Fig. 4

Lumbar and vagal neurons are phenotypically different and respond differently to NGF and BDNF. Na_V1.8^cre::Td-tomato^fl/wt (red) mice JNC (A, C, E) and DRG (B, D, F) nociceptor neurons were harvested, and cultured (1,500 neurons/plate) for 24h in the presence of vehicle (A-B), Nerve Growth Factor (NGF, 50 ng/mL; C-D), or Brain-Derived Neurotrophic Factor (BDNF, 50 ng/mL; E-F). In comparison to vehicle, NGF increased neurite outgrowth in cultured DRG neurons, and had limited impact in JNC neurons (G). BDNF increased neurite outgrowth in cultured JNC neurons but had no impact in DRG neurons (G). In vehicle-exposed culture, JNC neurons have a larger diameter than DRG neurons (H-I; n>1000 neurons). Data are shown as mean ± S.E.M. N=7 dishes/group from two independent experiments (A-I). P-values are shown in the figure and determined by one-way ANOVA post hoc Dunnett (G) or Mann-Whitney Test (I). Scale = 250 μm (A-F). NaV1.8⁺ nociceptors are labeled in red (A-F)