Development of an explant assay of Scarpa's Ganglion for the screening of neuroregenerative substances

Introduction Damage to Scarpa's ganglion (vestibular ganglion), for example by neurotoxic substances, leads to impaired transmission of signals from the vestibular organ to the central nervous system. The regeneration of neurites is a crucial step in the functional restoration of damaged neural structures. The aim of this work was to establish an explant assay of the Scarpa ganglion that allows the analysis of the effects of substances on neuritogenesis.

Material and methods Scarpa's ganglion from 3-5 day old sprague dawley rats was obtained by microdissection and cultured on coated cell culture chambers with different concentrations of BDNF for 72 hours. The evaluation of neuritogenesis was performed using software-based Sholl analysis after immunohistochemical labeling of TUJ1 in the vestibular neurons.

Results The explant cultures showed robust neuronal survival and vigorous outgrowth of vital neurites, which could be significantly increased by the addition of BDNF. The application of Sholl analysis allowed a systematic evaluation of the neuritogenesis of vestibular neurons.

Discussion The explant culture system described here represents an organotypic assay that allows the analysis of neurite outgrowth of Scarpa's ganglion neurons in vitro. The assay is therefore suitable for the screening of neuroregenerative substances, which could play an important role in particular in context of a possible future use of vestibular implants.

Publication History

Article published online:
19 April 2024