Figure 1.

Impact of culture surface on TNT characteristics in PC12 cells. PC12 cells were cultured on a plastic or glass surface for 1 day with similar seeding of 150 000 cells/cm². Histograms showing the impact of plastic or glass surface on the formation on the number (a) and length (b) of TNTs. Experiments were performed 3 times, and at least 200 cells were analyzed for each condition. ^∗∗∗P < 0.001, glass vs. plastic. Images were acquired on a plastic (c) or glass (d) surface with an automated boxed microscope (Celldiscoverer 7, Zeiss) with a 20x dry objective (zoom 0.5 for C1 and D1 or zoom 2 for C2 and D2) through a novel contrasting technique so-called adaptive phase gradient contrast (PGC, Zeiss). A high number of TNTs are detected when PC12 cells are cultured on a plastic surface. In the plastic culture conditions, TNTs are also wider and present more numerous bulging portion (arrows).