Vitamin E-enriched lipoproteins increase longevity of neurons in vitro

Vitamin E-enriched human lipoprotein fractions were used to supplement the standard feeding medium of organotypic, reaggregate, fetal rat brain cultures. The neurons in control cultures, which were fed with Dulbecco's Modified Eagle's Medium containing 15% fetal calf serum, began to degenerate after 27 days. Those in test cultures, which were supplemented with 5-15 micrograms vitamin E/ml, survived until the end of the experiment (49 days). We conclude that differentiated, membrane-rich neurons and glia need a lipid-enriched and/or antioxidant-supplemented medium for prolonged survival in organotypic culture.