Long-term development of mesencephalic dopaminergic neurons of mouse embryos in dissociated primary cultures: morphological and histochemical characteristics.

In 13 and 15 day-old mouse embryos mesencephalic dopaminergic neurons could already be visualized at the level of the mesencephalic flexure by tyrosine hydroxylase immunocytochemistry at day 13. At this time, noradrenergic cells in the locus coeruleus area were not detectable. In most in vitro experiments, dissociated mesencephalic cells of 13 day-old embryos were grown in presence of serum. Four approaches were used to identify the dopaminergic neurons in vitro: fluorescence histochemistry of newly taken up exogenous norepinephrine, radioautography after labelling with (3H) dopamine, tyrosine hydroxylase-like immunoreactivity and fluorescence histochemistry of endogenous stores of catecholamines. Control experiments performed at various times in vitro with selective inhibitors of amine transport into dopaminergic, noradrenergic and serotoninergic neurons indicated that only dopaminergic neurons were detected by these various approaches, noradrenergic neurons being virtually absent from the cultures. The uptake of exogenous norepinephrine was detected already 24 h after plating and preceded the appearance of tyrosine hydroxylase-like immunoreactivity (48 h). The number of neurons revealed by these two techniques increased up to 4 and 10 days, respectively. Endogenous stores of dopamine were only seen after three weeks in vitro by fluorescence histochemistry. At this time, the same number of neurons was revealed whatever the method used. The presence of striatal target cells (co-cultures) affected neither the sequential appearance of the markers nor the number of dopaminergic cells. The two main types of dopaminergic neurons (fusiform and multipolar) described in vivo both in the substantia nigra (A9) and the ventral tegmental area (A10) of adult animals were identified in vitro and their development into well-differentiated neurons can be followed for up to six weeks. This in vitro system seems, therefore, to be particularly suitable for biochemical and electrophysiological studies of these dopaminergic neurons.