NGF-dependent and -independent growth of neurites from sympathetic ganglion cells of the aged human in a serum-free culture.

Small pieces of tissue isolated from abdominal sympathetic ganglia in aged male patients were cultured in a chemically defined, serum-free medium. The growth of neurites from pieces of ganglia in cultures with and without 50 ng/ml mouse 2.5S nerve growth factor (NGF) was compared. The NGF stimulated significantly greater regeneration of neurites, causing the growth of long fibers from the ganglion pieces. Many short neurites grew, even in the absence of the NGF, but these were generally short, except for long neurites generated in several nerve cells. A method was devised for the evaluation of NGF-dependent growth of neurites in the culture. The rate of the NGF-dependent growth of neurites, which was calculated by the difference in the total lengths of the NGF-dependent neurites between 2- and 4-day-old cultures, was approximately 160 micron/day. The results indicate that although the growth of neurites from some sympathetic nerve cells of the aged human become independent of the NGF, most of the nerve cells remain dependent on the NGF, even in the stage of senescence.