Improving Neurite Outgrowth in Strokes Using a Cell Culture Model — Presentation Detail — Celebration of Scholars

Instructions

Student presentations must have a faculty sponsor.

Abstracts must include a title and a description of the research, scholarship, or creative work. The description should be 150-225 words in length and constructed in a format or style appropriate for the presenter’s discipline.

The following points should be addressed within the selected format or style for the abstract:

A clear statement of the problem or question you pursued, or the scholarly goal or creative theme achieved in your work.
A brief comment about the significance or uniqueness of the work.
A clear description of the methods used to achieve the purpose or goals for the work.
A statement of the conclusions, results, outcomes, or recommendations, or if the work is still in progress, the results you expect to report at the event.

Presenter photographs should be head and shoulder shots comparable to passport photos.

Additional Information

More information is available at carthage.edu/celebration-scholars/. The following are members of the Research, Scholarship, and Creativity Committee who are eager to listen to ideas and answer questions:

Jun Wang
Kim Instenes
John Kirk
Nora Nickels
Andrew Pustina
James Ripley

Improving Neurite Outgrowth in Strokes Using a Cell Culture Model

Name: Elizabeth Casey
Major: Neuroscience and Biology
Hometown: Kenosha
Faculty Sponsor:
Other Sponsors:
Type of research: SURE
Funding: SURE

Name: Maya Murzello
Major: Neuroscience
Hometown: Appleton
Faculty Sponsor:
Other Sponsors:
Type of research: SURE
Funding: SURE

Abstract

Stroke, the fifth leading cause of death in America, results in astrocytes becoming reactive and forming a glial scar surrounding the area of dead neurons. While the glial scar acts to protect the healthy part of the brain, it also prevents healthy neurons from repairing the dead tissue by inhibiting neurite regeneration.The focus of the research was to further understand neurite outgrowth using a neuroblastoma cell culture model. To induce differentiation, N2a neuroblastoma cells were exposed to either different concentrations of retinoic acid added at various time points in the cell's life cycle, serum starvation, or a combination of both. The retinoic acid was added over a period of two days. The results suggest that serum starvation and the addition of retinoic acid increases neurite length and outgrowth. Specifically, serum-starved N2a cells in Fetal Bovine Serum exposed to high concentrations of retinoic acid at plating showed the highest percentage of differentiated cells. The conditions found to best differentiate N2a cells can aid future research in developing treatments in which the brain will repair connections lost through neurite regeneration. The long term goal of the project is to improve patient recovery after stroke by improving neurite outgrowth.

Poster file