Chapter 53 Trophic effects on cholinergic striatal interneurons by submaxillary gland transplants

Abstract

This chapter describes and investigates whether intracerebrally grafted mouse or rat submaxillary glands, which are known to be rich sources of nerve growth factor (NGF) production, are able to survive and capable of exerting an NGF-like trophic effect on forebrain cholinergic neurons in adult rats. The chapter shows that intracerebrally grafted pieces of submaxillary gland from the adult male mice are able to survive grafting for at least two weeks in the brains of immunosuppressed adult male rats, although the survival rate is low. A higher survival rate is seen with mouse submaxillary glands from neonatal donors, which is left to mature over four weeks following grafting. The results presented in this chapter suggest that the submaxillary gland grafts exert a trophic effect on the cholinergic interneurons in the striatum of adult rats. Because the effect is seen with grafts of male mouse submaxillary glands, but not with the NGF-poor rat glands, the chapter proposes that the graft-induced trophic response is mediated through the release of NGF into the host striatal tissue or the cerebrospinal fluid.