Selective stimulation of dendrite outgrowth from identified corticospinal neurons by homotopic astrocytes

Corticospinal neurons were identified in primary cultures of cortical neurons established from rats that had been injected with a fluorescent tracer to retrogradely label the corticospinal tract. We measured neurite outgrowth from corticospinal neurons after they had been co-cultured with astrocytes derived from either the cerebral cortex (homotopic region) or spinal cord (target region) of postnatal rats. The axon length of corticospinal neurons was increased when they were cultured on astroglial monolayers compared to a control monolayer (fibroblasts). However, no difference in axon length was noted on cortical versus spinal cord-derived astrocytes. On the other hand, total dendritic length was increased on cortical compared to spinal cord astrocytes. This increase in total dendrite length was not the result of differences in the length of primary dendrites, but primarily of a higher number of dendrites and increased branching on the cortical astroglia. If the corticospinal neurons were co-cultured without physical contact with the astrocytes, axonal and dendritic outgrowth were not stimulated when compared to the fibroblast control. The data indicate that dendritic growth from corticospinal neurons is preferentially promoted by astrocytes from the cerebral cortex, whereas axonal growth is not influenced by the anatomical origin of the astrocytes. The impact of these findings on our understanding of the role of astrocytes in the development and regeneration of the corticospinal tract is discussed.