Factors that influence the development of cultured neurons from the brain of the moth Manduca sexta

Direct and glia-mediated effects of GABA on development of central olfactory neurons

Previously studied for its role in processing olfactory information in the antennal lobe, GABA also may shape development of the olfactory pathway, acting either through or on glial cells. Early in development, the dendrites of GABAergic neurons extend to the glial border that surrounds the nascent olfactory lobe neuropil. These neuropil glia express both GABAA and GABAB receptors, about half of the glia in acute cultures responded to GABA with small outward currents, and about a third responded with small transient increases in intracellular calcium. The neuronal classes that express GABA in vivo, the local interneurons and a subset of projection neurons, also do so in culture. Exposure to GABA in culture increased the size and complexity of local interneurons, but had no effect on glial morphology. The presence of glia alone did not affect neuronal morphology, but in the presence of both glia and GABA, the growth-enhancing effects of GABA on cultured antennal lobe neurons were eliminated. Contact between the glial cells and the neurons was not necessary. Operating in vivo, these antagonistic effects, one direct and one glia mediated, could help to sculpt the densely branched, tufted arbors that are characteristic of neurons innervating olfactory glomeruli.

A simple fluorescent double staining method for distinguishing neuronal from non-neuronal cells in the insect central nervous system

Being able to discriminate between neurons and non-neuronal cells such as glia and tracheal cells has been a major problem in insect neuroscience, because glia-specific antisera are available for only a small number of species such as Drosophila melanogaster and Manduca sexta. Especially developmental or comparative studies often require an estimate of neuron numbers. Since neuronal and glial cell bodies are in many cases indiscernible in situ, a method to distinguish neurons from non-neuronal cells that works in any given species is wanting. Another application is cell culturing. Cultured cells usually change their outward shape dramatically after being isolated so that it is frequently impossible to tell neurons and glia apart. Here, we present a simple method that uses a commercially available antiserum directed against horseradish peroxidase, which specifically stains neurons but no other cell type in every insect species investigated. Counterstaining with DAPI, a fluorescent chromophore that binds to double-stranded DNA in the nuclei of all cells, yields the total number of cells in a given sample. Thus, double labeled cells can be identified as neurons, cells that carry only DAPI staining are non-neuronal.

Insect neuronal cultures: an experimental vehicle for studies of physiology, pharmacology and cell interactions

The current status of insect neuronal cultures is discussed and their contribution to our understanding of the insect nervous system is explored. Neuronal cultures have been developed from a wide range of insect species and from all developmental stages. These have been used to study the morphological development of insect neurones and some of the extrinsic factors that affect this process. In addition, they have been used to investigate the physiology of sodium, potassium and calcium channels and the pharmacology of acetylcholine and GABA receptors. Insect neurones have also been grown in culture with muscle and glial cells to study cell interactions.

Brain-Derived Neurotrophic Factor Promotes Neurite Growth and Survival of Antennal Lobe Neurons in Brain from the Silk Moth, Bombyx moriin vitro

This study was conducted to investigate effects of brain-derived neurotrophic factor on the neurite growth and the survival rate of antennal lobe neurons in vitro, and secretion of brain-derived neurotrophic factor-like neuropeptide from brain into hemolymph in the silk moth, Bombyx mori. In primary culture of antennal lobe neurons with brain-derived neurotrophic factor, it promoted both a neurite extension of putative antennal lobe projection neurons and an outgrowth of branches from principal neurites of putative antennal interneurons with significance (p<0.05). Brain-derived neurotrophic factor also increased significantly a survival rate of antennal lobe neurons (p<0.05). Results from immunolabeling of brain and retrocerebral complex, and ELISA assay of hemolymph showed that brain-derived neurotrophic factor-like neuropeptide was synthesized by both median and lateral neurosecretory cells of brain, then transported to corpora allata for storage, and finally secreted into hemolymph for action. These results will provide valuable information for differentiation of invertebrate brain neurons with brain-derived neurotrophic factor.

DEVELOPMENT AND PARTIAL CHARACTERIZATION OF HELIOTHINE CELL LINES FROM EMBRYONIC AND DIFFERENTIATED TISSUES

The goal of this study was to generate cell lines from a variety of insect tissues that could be useful for developing in vitro assays with tissue-specific properties. In this article, we describe the establishment of new cell cultures from differentiated (primarily neural) and undifferentiated tissues (primarily embryonic) and their initial characterization. Cell lines were established from the following tissues of the budworm, Heliothis virescens, and the bollworm, Helicoverpa zea: larval ventral nerve cords (4 lines), larval midguts (1 line), adult ovaries (1 line), and embryonic tissues (11 lines). Cell lines were primarily characterized by morphological examination and polymerase chain reaction (PCR) (both deoxyribonucleic acid amplification fingerprinting and inter-simple sequence repeats PCR).

Reciprocal interactions between olfactory receptor axons and olfactory nerve glia cultured from the developing moth Manduca sexta

In olfactory systems, neuron-glia interactions have been implicated in the growth and guidance of olfactory receptor axons. In the moth Manduca sexta, developing olfactory receptor axons encounter several types of glia as they grow into the brain. Antennal nerve glia are born in the periphery and enwrap bundles of olfactory receptor axons in the antennal nerve. Although their peripheral origin and relationship with axon bundles suggest that they share features with mammalian olfactory ensheathing cells, the developmental roles of antennal nerve glia remain elusive. When cocultured with antennal nerve glial cells, olfactory receptor growth cones readily advance along glial processes without displaying prolonged changes in morphology. In turn, olfactory receptor axons induce antennal nerve glial cells to form multicellular arrays through proliferation and process extension. In contrast to antennal nerve glia, centrally derived glial cells from the axon sorting zone and antennal lobe never form arrays in vitro, and growth-cone glial-cell encounters with these cells halt axon elongation and cause permanent elaborations in growth cone morphology. We propose that antennal nerve glia play roles similar to olfactory ensheathing cells in supporting axon elongation, yet differ in their capacity to influence axon guidance, sorting, and targeting, roles that could be played by central olfactory glia in Manduca.

Effects of 20-hydroxyecdysone and serotonin on neurite growth and survival rate of antennal lobe neurons in pupal stage of the silk moth Bombyx mori in vitro

Effects of 20-hydroxyecdysone and serotonin on the morphological development and the survival of antennal lobe neurons from day-2 pupal brains of the silk moth Bombyx mori were investigated in vitro. Four morphologically distinct neuronal types could be identified in the cultured antennal lobe neurons: unipolar, bipolar, multi-polar and projection neurons. Antennal lobe neurons in culture with 20-hydroxyecdysone and serotonin showed different patterns of the morphological development from those described in Manduca sexta. Projection neurons extend their neurites remarkably by 20-hydroxyecdysone in B. mori, but there is no extension from antennal lobe neurons in M. sexta. Multi-polar neurons conspicuously increase only formation of new branches from their primary neurites by serotonin in B. mori, but there are both extension and branching of the neurites in M. sexta. On day-5, antennal lobe neurons in lower titers of 20-hydroxyecdysone had significantly higher survival rates than those in higher titers. Neurons cultured for 7 days at different levels of 20-hydroxyecdysone generally showed significantly lower survival rates than neurons cultured for 5 days under the same conditions.

Dendritic pattern development of the honeybee antennal lobe neurons: a laser scanning confocal microscopic study

The processing of odorant signals is performed, in the olfactory bulb of vertebrates or in the antennal lobe of insects, by different types of neurons which display specific morphological and functional features. The present work characterizes the morphogenesis of the main neuronal types which participate in olfactory discrimination in the adult honeybee (Apis mellifera). Neurons were stained intracellularly with Lucifer yellow at different stages of pupal development and in the adult, and imaged by laser scanning confocal microscopy. Attending to branching patterns, all pupal neurons could be attributed to morphological types previously established in the adult. Given the functional importance of intraglomerular dendritic arbors in the processing of olfactory information, the study focused on their development. The two main classes, dense and sparse intraglomerular arbors, display adultlike features as early as the second day of pupal development. However, morphometric measurements and confocal observations show that their general pattern undergoes continuous maturation processes until late pupal stages and after emergence of the adult. Among these, the results point out a pruning of dendritic branches in sparse arbors, but not in dense arbors.

Preparation of primary cultures and acute slices of the nervous system of the moth Manduca sexta

Interactions among receptor neurons, glial cells and neurons intrinsic to the antennal lobe of the moth underlie the formation of olfactory glomeruli. To isolate these interactions, as well as to understand the effect of a variety of humoral agents on differentiation of the neurons and glia, we generate primary cultures of neurons or glia. These methods are described. In addition. we describe a protocol for producing slice preparations of the developing moth brain that we are using to study the biophysical and morphological development of glial cells. This technique allows us to examine a class of glial cells associated with the glomeruli that otherwise are nearly inaccessible using standard intracellular recording techniques. It also preserves the 3-dimensional arrangement of glia that may strongly influence the development of glomeruli.

Long-term culture of fully differentiated adult insect neurons

An identified group of cells, dorsal unpaired median (DUM) neurons, isolated from the central nervous system of adult cockroaches can be grown in vitro for extended periods. These cells often develop morphological characteristics that differ from their in situ appearance but physiological experiments demonstrate that they retain their distinctive in vivo membrane properties. A method for culturing insect CNS neurons, which includes the use of a haemolymph-derived growth-enhancing factor is described, and this technique is compared with other attempts to develop an efficient system for producing in vitro preparations of well-defined, identifiable neurons that would provide a model system for aspects of neuron developmental growth, repair and function.

Enhancement by serotonin of the growth in vitro of antennal lobe neurons of the sphinx moth Manduca sexta

Cell culture experiments have been used to examine the effects of serotonin [5-hydroxytryptamine (5-HT)] on the morphological development of antennal lobe (AL) neurons in the brain of the sphinx moth, Manduca sexta. The majority of cells used in this study were from animals at stage 5 of the 18 stages of metamorphic adult development. 5-HT did not affect the survival of M. sexta AL neurons in culture, but did increase the numbers of cells displaying features characteristic of certain cell types. Three morphologically distinct cell types were examined in detail. The principal effect of 5-HT on these neurons was enhancement of cell growth. The magnitude of responses to this amine was cell-type specific. Site-specific responses to 5-HT were apparent also in one cell type. Our results suggest that the effects of 5-HT can change during the course of metamorphic development. These changes coincide temporally with the development of fast, sodium-based action potentials.