The effect of basic fibroblast growth factor (bFGF) and nerve growth factor (NGF) on the survival of septal neurons transplanted into the third ventricle in rats.

Effects of short-term pretreatment with basic fibroblast growth factor (bFGF) and nerve growth factor (NGF) on the survival of neurons transplanted into the third ventricle in rats were studied. Septa from 16-day-old rat embryos were pretreated with growth factor containing medium for 30 min and transplanted into the third ventricle of adult rats. Twenty-one days after the operation, the recipient rats were perfused with 4% paraformaldehyde. Paraffin sections of the removed brains were made, and the sections were stained with cresylviolet. The number of neurons in the grafts was counted under a light microscope. Although pretreatment with NGF was not effect, bFGF at the concentration of 1 and 10 micrograms/ml enhanced the survival of transplanted septal neurons. These results suggest that short-term pretreatment with bFGF could increase the efficiency of neuronal transplantation.