Visualization of outgrowing axons of grafted neurons by anterograde labelling with Phaseolus vulgaris leucoagglutinin in the motor cortex of the rat

Fetal cerebral cortical tissue was transplanted into an aspirated lesion cavity made in the sensorimotor cortex of adult rats. Ten weeks after grafting, outgrowing fibers from the graft were visualized by an anterograde tracing technique using Phaseolus vulgaris leucoagglutinin (PHA-L). It was demonstrated that the efferent fibers grew into the neighboring host cortical tissue, the corpus callosum and in some cases approached caudate/putamen. Characteristic axon arborization with abundant boutons were found in the host cortical tissue, but only in close vicinity to the grafts. It is concluded that the PHA-L anterograde tracing technique can be a useful tool to assess the degree of anatomical integration of the transplants into the host tissue.