A tissue-culture of nerve cells from adult mammalian ganglia and some electrophysiological properties of the nerve cells in vitro.

A new technique for primary culture of nerve cells isolated from peripheral ganglia of adult mammals has been developed. Nerve cells were isolated from trigeminal ganglia, nodose ganglia, sympathetic ganglia or dorsal root ganglia of adult guinea pigs by collagenase or dispase, and then were grown on collagen-coated plastic dishes for more than 4 weeks. Intracellular recording with a glass microelectrode reveals that the nerve cells in vitro generate not only Na spikes but also tetrodotoxin-resistant Na and Ca spikes. An exception was that the sympathetic ganglion cells in vitro failed to generate tetrodotoxin-resistant Na spikes. Difference in values of the Vmax of these spike components is observed among nerve cells (3-8 days in vitro) of different origin, suggesting that distribution of ionic channels on the plasma membrane may be different among species of nerve cells.