SELECTIVE SUB-DISSECTION OF THE STRIATAL PRIMORDIUM FOR CULTURES AFFECTS THE YIELD OF DARPP-32-CONTAINING NEURONS

WE have studied the effect of selectively dissecting the lateral (LGE) and medial (MGE) ganglionic eminences of the striatal primordium on t he yield of DARPP-32-immunoreactive striatal neurones in serum-free cu ltures maintained for 2 or 5 days. The LGE cultures yielded an approxi mately four-fold higher number of DARPP-32-positive neurones compared with the MGE cultures, without an accompanying difference in total cel l numbers. In both types of culture, there was a 70% reduction in DARP P-32 positive neurones from 2 to 5 days in vitro. In conclusion, the L GE is a rich source of striatal precursors and the present culture sys tem provides a good model for the study of factors that may prevent st riatal neuronal death.