Dendritic Growth in Vitro

What is it about?

Explants from the temporal cortex of newborn Lewis rats were cultured in vitro in normal feeding medium and in nutrients enriched with hydrocortizone, progesterone and testosterone. The dendritic growth was estimated on the 7th, 14th and 21st day in the phase contrast microscope and finally on 28th day in the electron microscope. The explants which were cultured in a testosterone-enriched medium demonstrated a rapid and extensive dendritic growth and dendritic arborization. Neurons cultured in a progesterone-enriched medium demonstrated a marked dilatation of the cisternae of the smooth endoplasmic reticulum and a rather moderate dendritic growth and moderate synaptogenesis, whereas neurons cultured in a hydrocortizone-enriched nutrient exhibited an increase in the number of the free ribosomes, various mitochondria1 alterations and a rather rapid dendritic growth and dendritic arborization as well as a large accumulation of glucogen granules.

Featured Image

Why is it important?

Hormonal factors such as androgens and progesterone seem to play a crucial role in the synaptogenesis in vitro, involved in the process of post-synaptic differentiation of the dendritic spines.. Double synapses were frequently seen in the exposed to androgen explants, suggesting that these factors could modify the anatomical and the functional proportion of the synapses, presumably enlarging the spectrum of the synaptic mechanism. In addition hydrocortizone prolongs the period of growth cone formation.

Perspectives