Retinal ganglion cell survival is mediated by cell contact with immature rat astroglia.

The survival of identified retinal ganglion cells (RGGs) in vitro increased when they were plated over subcultured monolayers of astrocytes. Immunofluorescence labelling of these monolayers showed that over 85% of the cells were glial fibrillary acidic protein (GFAP) positive and consisted of large, flat immature astrocytes. Less than 7% of the total cell population in the monolayers were fibroblasts, leptomeningeal or endothelial cells. Coculturing of RGCs with subcultured astrocytes revealed that the trophic interaction between astrocytes and RGCs is mediated through cell contact.