Volume 12 Issue 1
The Effect of Coatings and Nerve Growth Factor on Attachment and Differentiation of Pheochromocytoma Cells
Anna Orlowska, Pallale Tharushi Perera, Mohammad Al Kobaisi, Andre Dias, Huu Khuong Duy Nguyen, Shahram Ghanaati, Vladimir Baulin, Russell J. Crawford and Elena P. Ivanova
1Frankfurt Orofacial Regenerative Medicine, University Hospital Frankfurt, Theodor-Stern-Kai 7, D-60590 Frankfurt am Main, Germany
2Departament d’Enginyeria Quimica, Universitat Rovira i Virgili, 26 Avenue dels Paisos Catalans, 43007 Tarragona, Spain
3Department of Chemistry and Biotechnology, School of Science, Swinburne University of Technology, P.O. Box 218, Hawthorn VIC 3122, Australia
4School of Science, RMIT University, P.O. Box 2476, Melbourne VIC 3001, Australia
*Author to whom correspondence should be addressed.
Abstract
Cellular attachment plays a vital role in the differentiation of pheochromocytoma (PC12) cells. PC12 cells are noradrenergic clonal cells isolated from the adrenal medulla of Rattus norvegicus and studied extensively as they have the ability to differentiate into sympathetic neuron-like cells. The effect of several experimental parameters including (i) the concentration of nerve growth factor (NGF); (ii) substratum coatings, such as poly-L-lysine (PLL), fibronectin (Fn), and laminin (Lam); and (iii) double coatings composed of PLL/Lam and PLL/Fn on the differentiation process of PC12 cells were studied. Cell morphology was visualised using brightfield phase contrast microscopy, cellular metabolism and proliferation were quantified using a 3-(4,5-dimethylthiazol-2-yl)-5-(3-carboxymethoxyphenyl)-2-(4-sulfophenyl)-2H-tetrazolium (MTS) assay, and the neurite outgrowth and axonal generation of the PC12 cells were evaluated using wide field fluorescence microscopy. It was found that double coatings of PLL/Lam and PLL/Fn supported robust adhesion and a two-fold enhanced neurite outgrowth of PC12 cells when treated with 100 ng/mL of NGF while exhibiting stable metabolic activity, leading to the accelerated generation of axons.
Keywords:nerve growth factor (NGF); poly-L-lysine; fibronectin; laminin; PC12 neuronal differentiation