Effect of trophic factors on delayed neuronal death induced by in vitro ischemia in cultivated hippocampal and cortical neurons

The effect of trophic factors on neuronal survival after 30 min oxygen and glucose deprivation (in vitro ischemia) was studied in primary hippocampal and cortical neuronal cultures of rat. In vitro ischemia was produced at 37°C by placing cultures in glucose-free medium, the oxygen content of which was removed by gassing with pure argon. After in vitro ischemia neurons were allowed to recover either in serum-free minimal essential medium (MEM) or in MEM containing 5% native horse serum, 100 ng/ml basic fibroblast growth factor (bFGF) or 10 ng/ml transforming growth factor- β1 (TGF-β1), respectively. Cultures that recovered in serum-free medium suffered a progressive type of neuronal injury: survival of either cortical or hippocampal neurons declined from about 60% after 1 h to 50% after 3 h, 40% after 6 h and less than 20% after 24 h. Addition of serum proteins to the incubation medium did not influence early survival (up to 3-6 h) but significantly improved survival after 24 h (more than 40% in both hippocampal and cortical cultures). Addition of TGF-β1 and bFGF had only minor effects. These data show that serum reduces delayed ischemic cell death by a mechanism which is different from that of TGF-β1 or bFGF protection.