Transcription profiling of Xenopus dorsal root ganglia conditioned in vitro vs freshly dissected control

Axonal regeneration is enhanced by prior conditioning peripheral nerve lesions. Here we show that Xenopus dorsal root ganglia (DRGs) with attached peripheral nerves (PN-DRGs) can be conditioned in vitro, thereafter showing enhanced axonal growth in response to neurotrophins, similar to preparations conditioned by axotomy in vivo. In contrast to freshly dissected preparations, conditioned PN-DRGs show abundant neurotrophin-induced axonal growth in the presence of actinomycin D, suggesting synthesis of mRNA encoding proteins necessary for axonal elongation occurs during the conditioning period, and this was confirmed by oligonucleotide micro-array analysis.

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