Figure 8

FGF-2 secreted by BMMC stimulates neuritogenesis of DRG neurons co-cultured with SC. A-F: Optical sections obtained by confocal microscopy of E16 rat embryo DRG sensory neurons (Tuj-1, red) and SCs (GFAP, green) incubated for 48 h with DMEM F-12 (control medium, A), bone marrow conditioned medium (CM, B), CM + neutralizing FGF-2 antibody (C), rhFGF-2 added to the control medium (D), rhFGF-2 + neutralizing FGF-2 antibody (E) or rhFGF-2 + rhNGF (F). Both cell types derived from cultured DRG explants of E16 rat embryos. Cell nuclei were counterstained with TO-PRO. All culture media were serum-free. rh: recombinant human protein. G: Quantification of the average neurite length per neuron under the experimental conditions described above. Statistics: p < 0.001. Scale bars: A-F = 50 μm.