Survival of neurons containing the enzyme nicotinamide adenine dinucleotide phosphate (NADPH) diaphorase in static slice cultures of adult rat striatum.

The present study concerns the survival potential of mature neurons containing the enzyme nicotinamide adenine dinucleotide phosphate (NADPH) diaphorase in the static slice culture of adult rat striatum. In the striatal tissues immediately after slicing, there was a scattered distribution of NADPH-diaphorase neurons stained in a Golgi-like manner, and the cell density of those neurons was 53 +/- 5 (mean +/- SEM; n = 10) cells per mm2. The time-sequential cell density analysis disclosed that the number of striatal NADPH-diaphorase neurons surviving after 1, 2, 4 and 6 day in culture were 26 +/- 5, 8 +/- 2, 5 +/- 2, and 3 +/- 2 (means +/- SEM; n = 10) cells per mm2, respectively. Thus, approximately 50% of striatal NADPH-diaphorase neurons survived for 1 day and a significant proportion of these neurons, although their number gradually decreased, were maintained in culture for at least several days. The conspicuous survival of the striatal NADPH-diaphorase neurons in slice culture is thought to reflect the damage-resistant natures of these cells.