title: Ketamine protects cultured astrocytes from glutamate-induced swelling.
abstract: Effects of ketamine on glutamate-induced swelling of astrocytes in primary cell culture were studied. Following the exposure to 1 mM glutamate (Glu) for 4 h the intracellular water space (as measured by 3-O-methyl-[14C]glucose uptake) of astrocytes was increased by two-fold concomitant with cell swelling and disappearance of cellular processes observed by phase-contrast microscopy. Ketamine, when co-incubated with Glu, reduced the astrocytic swelling in a dose-dependent manner. These data suggested that ketamine, in addition to its function as a non-competitive N-methyl-D-aspartate receptor antagonist, is also involved in protecting astrocytes from Glu-induced swelling.
authors.affiliation: Department of Neurology, School of Medicine, University of California, San Francisco 94143.
authors.forename: P H
authors.initials: PH
authors.lastname: Chan
authors.forename: L
authors.initials: L
authors.lastname: Chu
mesh_terms: D000818:Animals; D001253:Astrocytes / Q000166:cytology / Q000187:drug effects / Q000502:physiology*; D002463:Cell Membrane Permeability / Q000187:drug effects*; D002478:Cells, Cultured; D002540:Cerebral Cortex / Q000166:cytology / Q000187:drug effects / Q000502:physiology*; D005971:Glutamates / Q000494:pharmacology; D018698:Glutamic Acid; D007649:Ketamine / Q000494:pharmacology*; D051381:Rats; D011919:Rats, Inbred Strains
chemical_list: D005971:Glutamates; D018698:Glutamic Acid; D007649:Ketamine