Long-term effect of vital labelling on mixed Schwann cell cultures

Schwann cell transplantation following neuronal injury could encourage regeneration of spinal cord as well as improving peripheral nerve gap repair. In order to gain a better understanding of the role of transplanted Schwann cells in vivo, it is essential to be able to follow their behaviour after transplantation. Our aim was to evaluate the suitability of two vital fluorescent labels on the proliferation rate and phenotypic stability of Schwann cells, in either pure culture or mixed co-culture. Primary cultures of Schwann cells were obtained from Dark Agouti and Lewis neonatal rats and labelled with H33342 and PKH26, respectively. In mixed cultures, a 50:50 mixture of Dark Agouti and Lewis Schwann cells was present. Labelled cultured cells were examined at 1, 2 and 4 weeks for viability and phenotypic marker expression of S100, GFAP, p75, MHC I, MHC II and compared with corresponding unlabelled cells. The results showed that although there was no deleterious interaction in the mixed cultures, the viability was reduced by the labelling after 2 weeks. Labelled cells could be distinguished up to 4 weeks, but there was leakage of H33342 label after 2 weeks. Labelled Schwann cells showed reduced expression of phenotypic markers, especially p75 when labelled with H33342. In conclusion, H33342 and PKH26 can be used as fluorescent markers of Schwann cells for short-term studies, for a maximum of 2 weeks, but different markers may be needed for longer experiments.