Hormonal requirements for neuronal survival in culture

doi:10.1016/0304-3940(79)91498-8

Neuroscience Letters

Volume 13, Issue 3, August 1979, Pages 225-230

https://doi.org/10.1016/0304-3940(79)91498-8 Get rights and content

Abstract

The inability to grow neurons in culture in the absence of complex and undefined biological fluids (e.g. serum) has proved a major obstacle to a rigorous formulation of the growth, nutritional and hormonal requirements of the developing nervous system. We have been successful in maintaining dissociated chick dorsal root ganglia neurons in a serum-free, defined medium composed of F12 synthetic medium and, substituting for serum, a combination of hormones (insulin, PTH, triiodothyronine, TRH, somatomedin, hydrocortisone, testosterone) and other factors (transferrin). Not only were these hormones found to be sufficient for the maintenance of neurons in vitro, but, by the selective elimination of one component from the mixture, the role of specific hormones in neutral development could be grossly assessed. The elimination of insulin proved to be most inimical to neuronal survival.

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Hormonal requirements for neuronal survival in culture

Abstract

Brain Res.

Recent Progr. Horm. Res.

Develop. Biol.

Develop. Biol.

Brain Res.

Int. Rev. Cytol.

Reconstituted rat tail collagen used as substrate for tissue cultures on coverslips in Maximow slides and roller tubes

Lab. Invest.

Anabolic responses of embryonic dorsal root ganglia to nerve growth factor, insulin, concanavalin A or serum in vitro

J. Neurochem.

Current concepts of somatomedin and other biologically related growth factors

Diabetes

Nerve growth factor and insulin: structural similarities indicate an evolutionary relationship reflected by physiological action

Science