Background
The GABAergic system plays an important role in modulating levels of anxiety. When transplanted into the brain, precursor cells from the medial ganglionic eminence (MGE) have the ability to differentiate into GABAergic interneurons and modify the inhibitory tone in the host brain. Currently, two
Conclusion
Our results suggest a long-lasting anxiolytic effect of transplanted freshly dissociated cells that reinforces the inhibitory function of the GABAergic neuronal circuitry in the hippocampus related to anxiety-like behavior in rats.
Results
We transplanted freshly dissociated or neurosphere dissociated cells into the neonate brain of male rats on postnatal (PN) day 2-3. At early adulthood (PN 62-63), transplanted animals were tested in the Elevated Plus Maze (EPM). To verify the differentiation and migration pattern of the transplanted cells in vitro and in vivo, we performed immunohistochemistry for GFP and several interneuron-specific markers: neuropeptide Y (NPY), parvalbumin (PV) and calretinin (CR). Cells from both types of preparations expressed these interneuronal markers. However, an anxiolytic effect on behavior in the EPM was observed in animals that received the MGE-derived freshly dissociated cells but not in those that received the neurosphere dissociated cells.