Dopaminergic neurons grown in three-dimensional reaggregate culture for periods of up to one year.

The use of three-dimensional (3-D) reaggregate cultures of mesencephalic fetal dopaminergic neurons in co-culture with their target cells of the corpus striatum (CS) has permitted examination of the development and survival of such neurons for periods of up to 1 year. Dopaminergic neurons grown in dialyzed serum in reaggregate cultures show an increase in neurotransmitter level over the first 2 months in culture, and these levels of dopamine are maintained or increased over the next 4-12 months. While there is an apparent decrease in the numbers of dopaminergic neurons by 1 year in culture, many dopaminergic neurons survive and can be visualized at the light and electron microscopic level by tyrosine hydroxylase immunocytochemistry and their processes assessed by histofluorescent techniques. The survival of dopaminergic neurons in an organized culture system in which they demonstrate a normal developmental pattern and establish synaptic contact with appropriate target cells provides an approach to the experimental examination of a substantial portion of the life history of these neurons.