Embryonic motoneurons were fluorescently-labelled with carbocyanine (diI) by means of retrograde transport and then grafted into the adult mouse spinal cord (L2) and brain (striatum) for 2-10 weeks. The motoneurons were grafted either following purification on the fluorescence-activated cell sorter or in the presence of embryonic glial cells and interneurons from the spinal cord. In both conditions of grafting, motoneurons were found to survive and develop in both grey and white matter and were found to migrate long distances in both regions of the central nervous system. Migration of neurons after grafting remains a controversial issue, therefore we have discussed the work of other groups that have described the same phenomenon.
The aim of the present work was to determine whether embryonic motoneurons could survive in the adult CNS and whether they display different survival and growth characteristics in their natural site (the spinal cord) as compared to an ectopic site (the striatal region of the brain). Specific labelling of embryonic motoneurons was obtained by retrograde transport of a fluorescent tracer (carbocyanine) followed by partial purification of the dissociated motoneurons on a density gradient. This technique offers the advantage that only the motoneurons in the cell suspension used for the grafts contain the fluorescent tracer. This study demonstrates that these motoneurons can survive and differentiate in the white and grey matters, not only in the adult spinal cord, but also in the brain. Furthermore, these motoneurons can migrate approximately 2 mm in the spinal cord and 4 mm in the brain.
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