S. Fedoroff

The relationship between astrocytes forming in the presence of dibutyryl cyclic AMP (dBcAMP) in culture and reactive astrocytes responding to a cerebral cortex stab wound was investigated using computerized image analysis (Zeiss IBAS 1) and immunocytochemical staining. The diameters of the nuclei of astrocytes in primary cultures of newborn mouse neopallial cells were compared to those of the nuclei of normal and reactive astrocytes in histological sections of mouse cerebral cortex. We found that the nuclei of astrocytes that formed in the presence of dBcAMP in cultures are significantly larger than those of spontaneously occurring small stellate astrocytes in culture and of normal astrocytes of the cerebral cortex in vivo but corresponded more closely to the nuclei of reactive astrocytes in the area surrounding a stab wound in the cerebral cortex. Large stellate cells formed in the presence of dBcAMP had vimentin and an increase in GFP-containing intermediate filaments. Formation of reactive astrocytes in vivo is also associated with an increase in both vimentin and GFP-containing intermediate filaments. These observations indicate a closer relationship of astrocytes formed in the presence of dBcAMP in cultures to the reactive astrocytes in the cerebral cortex than to normal astrocytes. We propose, therefore, that the large stellate astrocytes that form in the presence of dBcAMP be referred to as reactive astrocytes in culture.

We examined the effect of bacterial wall lipopolysaccharide (LPS), a strong inflammatory agent, on the morphology, cell motility, cytoskeletal organization, and phagocytic activity of microglia in tissue cultures initiated from neopallia of newborn C3H/OuJ mice. Normally, the microglia in our cultures are non-migratory and Mac-1 positive, have ameboid cell morphology, no polarity, many short processes that extend into lamellipodia in opposing directions, and undulating cell membrane projections. When 1-5 micrograms/ml LPS is added to such cultures, some cells acquire polarity by forming a large lamellipodium and begin to migrate. Two hours later migration ceases; the membrane undulations stop; and the cells become non-polar, assume a large, round, flat shape, and gradually develop many microspikes all over the cell body. Those cells that do not transform into large, round, flat cells enlarge and extend numerous lamellipodia in opposing directions. We found that the cytoskeleton of microglia is composed of actin, vimentin-containing intermediate filaments (IF) and microtubules (MT). Vimentin-containing IF and MT form dense networks that radiate into the cell periphery, whereas F-actin is diffusely arranged throughout the cytoplasm. The LPS-treated cells show changes in the organization of the main components of the cytoskeleton. F-actin is reorganized by the formation of bundles underneath and parallel to the cell membrane and other bundles projecting into the cores of the microspikes. The vimentin-containing IF dense network reorganizes into two condensed rings, with fine strands of IF extended between the two rings and the MT networks become less dense and extend throughout the cytoplasm. The LPS treatment potentiates the phagocytic activity of the microglia. However, approximately 30% of microglia lose the expression of MHC class II antigens.