Morphofunctional Patterns of Neuronal Network Developing in Dissociated Hippocampal Cell Cultures

The aim of investigation was to study the morphofunctional patterns of neuronal network developing in primary long-term hippocampal cell cultures.

Materials and Methods. The ultrastructural features of developing intercellular contacts in neuronal network formed by cultured hippocampal cells of 18 day-old mouse embryos were studied. The sequence of ultrastructural development of these contacts was compared with dynamics of functional network neuronal activity estimated by parameters of multicellular fluorescent Са²⁺-imaging. At the same time the changes of quantitative interrelation and positional relationship of neurons and glial cells were immunocitochemically determined.

Results. In primary hippocampal cell culture at 3rd–4th weeks in vitro the gradual formation of mature synaptic contacts correlates with appearence of complex Са²⁺ neuronal network activity. In this period individual neurons form a uniform monolayer distributed among numerous glial cells. Thus the results obtained reflect morphofunctional patterns of different stages of cultural development as a biological model of neuronal network ontogenesis.

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Shirokova О.М., Frumkina L.Е., Vedunova М.V., Mitroshina Е.V., Zakharov Y.N., Khaspekov L.G., Mukhina I.V. Morphofunctional Patterns of Neuronal Network Developing in Dissociated Hippocampal Cell Cultures. Sovremennye tehnologii v medicine 2013; 5(2): 6