Figure 2

Growth factors reduce neurotoxicity in vitro. Neuroprotection against glutamate toxicity (1 mM for 2 h) by growth factors at concentrations similar to those at treatment month 12 in the clinical trial (2000 pg/ml TGFβ1, 500 pg/ml BDNF, 100 pg/ml PDGF-BB). A-C, Brightfield microscopy images indicate that addition of growth factors during glutamate exposure induced partial protection of axonal integrity in those cultures (black arrows) and decreased the number of TUNEL positive cells (white triangles), representative images shown from 8 experiments. D, a protective effect was confirmed quantitatively by a significant reduction in LDH release. LDH data are shown from 8 independent experiments with wells run in duplicate for each condition.