Neuritic outgrowth in primary cell culture of neurons from the squid, Loligo pealei

Abstract

Giant fiber lobe (GFL) cells obtained from healthy squid reliably produced neuritic processes in culture. The processes were of two types, a sheet-like veil or thin branching neurites. The latter type was often associated with bulbous expansions (presumptive growth cones), at the termini, at branch points, or at sites of apparent contact among branches from two different cells. On poly- l-lysine substrate, veiling usually occurred by the fourth or fifth day in culture, while the branching processes appeared by one week to ten days. The elaboration of the outgrowths by the GFL neurons was influenced by the culture substrate and incubation temperature. The development of a preparation in which isolated GFL somata extend neurites in an easily controlled environment will permit the detailed study of axon fusion, channel expression and turnover, and synapse formation in the neurons.