Networks formed by dorsal root ganglion neurites within spinal cord explants: a computer-aided analysis of HRP intracellularly labeled neurons

Abstract

Dorsal root ganglion (DRG) neurons from rat embryos were explanted either alone or with the attached spinal cord (SC). Neuritic processes were mapped out histologically using an intracellular iontophoretic HRP method. Computer reconstructions and morphometric parameters allowed a comparative quantitative analysis of the DRG neurons and of their neuritic processes in both models. The first model, strongly dependent on nerve growth factor (NGF) for its survival, developed large multidirectional processes. The second model showed a bipolar distribution of its neuritic processes, the central one entering predominantly the dorsolateral part of the cord explant and ramifying both homo- and heterolaterally. The quantitative data revealed a significant decrease in the overall size of the neuritic networks of the second model (with attached SC). A discriminant analysis permitted the recognition of these two populations of DRG neurons. The role of the spinal cord explant, and more precisely the target cells of the dorsal horn, was considered to be a prominent factor in the development of the DRG neuritic networks.