Regenerating tissues of the cockroach Leucophaea maderae: effects of humoral stimulation in vitro

The status of the study of invertebrate neurons in tissue culture--phylum Arthropoda

1. Neurobiological studies employing tissue culture are discussed for all invertebrate organisms in phylum Arthropoda and above. Only arthropod species have been investigated in these studies. 2. The members of phylum Arthropoda utilized were Periplaneta, Locusta, Drosophila, and Schistocerca. 3. Some of the initial studies of nerve cells in tissue culture were performed with Periplaneta and Drosophila; these studies were primarily concerned with differentiation, growth and development. 4. Cultured neurons from cockroach and locust have been used in pharmacological investigations of neurotransmitter receptors. 5. Embryos of the grasshopper Schistocerca were cultured in series of developmental studies related to axon guidance and peripheral nerve formation. 6. Recent studies with Drosophila neurons in vitro have applied a genetic approach to the investigation of molecular properties and function of the axonal sodium channel. 7. An overall view of neuronal tissue culture of invertebrates and analysis of the various areas of research is presented.

Conditioning of a glass surface for the outgrowth of insect epidermis (Leucophaea maderae, Blattaria)

A method has been developed by which the surface of cover slips can be condition for rapid outgrowth of the epidermis of cockroach legs. The method permits in vitro observation of wound-healing processes. The conditioning is brought about by materials given off by the hemocytes, possibly materials from the granules of plasmatocytes which are extruded during the flattening of the cells; Coating of the glass surface with other proteins (including cockroach hemolymph serum) and carbohydrates was completely ineffective.

Axonal outgrowth and cell migration in vitro from nervous system of cockroach embryos

Brain and ganglia of embryonic Periplaneta americana were grown for 2 to 3 weeks in a chemically defined medium. Nerve fibers sprouted vigorously from intact brains and ganglia, interconnecting nerve cultures, and adjacent cultures of the digestive tract, Glia, tracheal, and nerve cells were present in large numbers in the migratory zone surrounding the explants.