Neuron-gila interactions of rat hippocampal cells in vitro: Glial-guided neuronal migration and neuronal regulation of glial differentiation

To examine neuron-glia interactions of hippocampal cells, including glial-guided neuronal migration, glial organization of neuronal positioning and neuronal regulation of astroglial differentiation, rat hippocampal tissue, harvested between embryonic day 16(E16) and postnatal day 3 (P3), was dissociated into a single cell suspension and plated in glass coverslip microcultures. Immunostaining the cell with antibodies against the glial filament protein (AbGFP) revealed developmental stage-specific changes in the number and extent of morphological differentiation of hippocampal astroglial cells. The morphological differentiation of hippocampal glial cells in vitro was dependent on cell-cell interactions with neurons. in the absence of neurons, purified hippocampal astroglia had flat, undifferentiated profiles and proliferated rapidly. The addition of hippocampal neurons rapidly arrested glial growth and induced glial process extension.