Separation of functional Schwann cells and neurons from normal peripheral nerve tissue.

A method has been devised for obtaining viable cultures of normal sensory neurons and normal Schwann cells from rat dorsal root ganglia, using cytosine arabinoside and fluorodeoxyuridine for control of non-neuronal cell proliferation. These cultures were used to demonstrate (a) that Schwann cells could be generated and maintained in culture free of fibroblast contamination, (b) that Schwann cells could exist in either a quiescent or proliferative state, depending on the absence of neurons, (c) that sensory ganglia could be obtained that would provide an outgrowth of axons entirely free of non-neuronal cells even in the absence of antimitotic agents, and (d) that quiescent Schwann cells, induced to proliferate by 'bare' axons, could ensheath and, in time, myelinate some of these axons.