NTF effect on neuronal morphologies Effect of 50 ng/ml BDNF, 100 ng/ml CNTF and the combination of both NTFs (B/C) compared to negative control (NC) on neuronal morphology in terms of polarity and missing neurite outgrowth after 48 h <i>in vitro</i> incubation.

<p>All morphologies and their distribution dependent on the treatment are depicted in an overview graph (mean ± SEM) (A). The analysis of the most frequent neuron types is depicted in B-D. The amount of monopolar neurons was increased when treated with BDNF or both NTFs. Only BDNF (15.04%) but not CNTF (10.21%) increased the amount of bipolar neurons. Both factors added simultaneously resulted in a highly significant increase to 42.84% of bipolar neurons compared to the negative control, showing a synergistic effect. The number of neurons without neurites was significantly decreased when both NTFs were administered together. BDNF or CNTF treatment resulted in a statistically lower percentage of neurons without neurites compared to the negative control as well. Furthermore, BDNF treatment caused a lower rate of neurites without neurons than CNTF. The SGN morphology is given as a percentage of the total number of scored neurons represented as mean and standard error of mean (SEM). Asterisks above the error bars show the significance of the conditions compared to the relevant negative control. (mean ± SEM; *<i>p</i><0.05; **<i>p</i><0.01; ***<i>p</i> < 0.001; ns = not significant; independent experiments: 3, wells per experiment: 1).