Neuroblast mitosis in dissociated culture: regulation and relationship to differentiation

Although neuron generation is precisely regulated during ontogeny, little is known about underlying mechanisms. In addition, relationships between precursor proliferation and the apparent sequence of developmental processes, including cell migration, neurite elaboration, transmitter expression and synaptogenesis remain unknown. To address these issues, we used a fully defined neuronal cell culture system derived from embryonic rat sympathetic ganglia (DiCicco-Bloom, E., and I. B. Black. 1988. Proc. Natl. Acad. Sci. USA. 85:4066-4070) in which precursors enter the mitotic cycle. We now find that, in addition to synthesizing DNA, neuroblasts also underwent division in culture, allowing analysis of developmental relationships and mitotic regulation. Our observations indicate that mitotic neuroblasts expressed a wide array of neuron-specific characteristics including extension of neuritic processes with growth cones, elaboration of neurotransmitter enzyme, synthesis and transport of transmitter vesicles and organization of transmitter release sites. These data suggest that neuroblasts in the cell cycle may simultaneously differentiate. Consequently, the apparent sequence of ontogenetic processes is not an immutable, intrinsic neuronal program. How, then, are diverse developmental events coordinated? Our observations indicate that neuroblast mitosis is regulated by a small number of epigenetic factors, including insulin and EGF. Since these signals also influence other processes in developing neurons, epigenetic regulation normally may synchronize diverse ontogenetic events.