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Organotypic Spinal Cord Culture: a Proper Platform for the Functional Screening

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Abstract

Recent improvements in organotypic slice culturing and its accompanying technological innovations have made this biological preparation increasingly useful ex vivo experimental model. Among organotypic slice cultures obtained from various central nervous regions, spinal cord slice culture is an absorbing model that represents several unique advantages over other current in vitro and in vivo models. The culture of developing spinal cord slices, as allows real-time observation of embryonic cells behaviors, is an instrumental platform for developmental investigation. Importantly, due to the ability of ex vivo models to recapitulate different aspects of corresponding in vivo conditions, these models have been subject of various manipulations to derive disease-relevant slice models. Moreover spinal cord slice cultures represent a potential platform for screening of different pharmacological agents and evaluation of cell transplantation and neuroregenerative materials. In this review, we will focus on studies carried out using the ex vivo model of spinal cord slice cultures and main advantages linked to practicality of these slices in both normal and neuropathological diseases and summarize them in different categories based on application.

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Abbreviations

3D:

Three dimensional

5α-DHP:

5α-Dihydroprogestrone

ALS:

Amyotrophic lateral sclerosis

AMPA:

α-Amino-3-hydroxy-5-methyl-4-isoxazolepropionic acid

BDNF:

Brain-derived neurotrophic factor

CNS:

Central nervous system

CHOP:

CCAAT-enhancer-binding protein homologous protein

E:

Embryonic day

EGFP:

Enhanced green fluorescent protein

ER:

Endoplasmic reticulum

GABA:

Neurotransmitter gamma-aminobutyric acid

GDNF:

Glial cell line-derived neurotrophic factor

GFRα-1:

GDNF family receptor α-1

GHS-R:

Growth hormone secretagogue receptor

GSK 3β:

Glycogen synthase kinase 3-β

HC-TeTx:

c-Terminal domain of tetanus toxin

HDAC:

Histone deacetylase inhibitor

hMSC:

Human mesenchymal stem cell

IL1RA:

Interleukin-1 receptor antagonist

Li:

Lithium

LPS:

Lipopolysaccharide

MAPK:

Mitogen-activated protein kinase

MEA:

Microelectrode arrays

MN:

Motoneuron

NEP:

Neuroepithelial progenitor cells

NGF:

Nerve growth factor

NMDA:

N-methyl-d-aspartate

NPC:

Neural progenitor cell

NSC:

Neural stem cell

NT:

Neurotrophin

OEC:

Olfactory ensheating cell

P:

Postnatal day

P4:

Progesterone

PAR:

Poly-ADP-ribose

PARP:

Poly (ADP-ribose) polymerase

PDC:

l-trans pyrrolidine 2, 4-dicarboxylic acid

PFT:

Pifithrin-α

PI3-K:

Phosphatidylinositol 3-kinase

PKA:

Protein kinase A

PLA:

Poly-lactic acid

PM:

Pathological medium

PPAR-δ:

Peroxisome proliferator-activated receptor-delta

PR:

Progesterone receptor

p75NTR :

Low-affinity p75 neurotrophin receptor

SCI:

Spinal cord injury

THA:

Threo-hydroxyaspartate

Tm:

Tunicamycin

TNF-α:

Tumor necrosis factor-α

VEGF:

Vascular endothelial growth factor

VEGFR2:

VEGF receptor-2

VPA:

Valproic acid

UPS:

Ubiquitin-proteasome system

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Acknowledgments

The authors are thankful to the Neuroscience Research Center, Shahid Beheshti University of Medical Sciences, for the financial support of this work. Also they would like to thank Abdolaziz Ronaghi and Mohammad Saied Salehi for their comments and suggestions.

Conflict of Interest

The authors declare that they have no competing interests.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Neuroscience Research Center, Shahid Beheshti University of Medical Sciences, Tehran, Iran

    Sareh Pandamooz & Abolhassan Ahmadiani

  2. Department of Animal Biology, Faculty of Biological Sciences, Kharazmi University, Tehran, Iran

    Sareh Pandamooz & Mohammad Nabiuni

  3. Neurobiology Research Group, Faculty of Life Sciences, The University of Manchester, Manchester, UK

    Jaleel Miyan

  4. NeuroBiology Research Center, Shahid Beheshti University of Medical Sciences, Tehran, Iran

    Leila Dargahi

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  1. Sareh Pandamooz
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  2. Mohammad Nabiuni
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Pandamooz, S., Nabiuni, M., Miyan, J. et al. Organotypic Spinal Cord Culture: a Proper Platform for the Functional Screening. Mol Neurobiol 53, 4659–4674 (2016). https://doi.org/10.1007/s12035-015-9403-z

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