title: Phagocytosis of polystyrene latex beads by rat brain microglia cell cultures is increased by treatment with gangliosides.
abstract: Cultures of microglial cells were prepared from primary rat brain cultures of astrocytes. Microglia appeared under two main forms: ameboid and ramified. Only the former were capable of ingesting opsonized latex particles of 1 and 6 micron; while the latter, which appeared later in culture, were not capable of phagocytosis. When gangliosides (10(-6) M), which are known for their neuronotrophic capacity in vitro, were added to the growth medium (for 20 min) they stimulated the phagocytosis of ameboid microglia 2-fold.
authors.affiliation: Istituto di Biologia Cellulare, Universita di Perugia, Italia.
authors.forename: V
authors.initials: V
authors.lastname: Bocchini
authors.forename: J C
authors.initials: JC
authors.lastname: Artault
authors.forename: G
authors.initials: G
authors.lastname: Rebel
authors.forename: H
authors.initials: H
authors.lastname: Dreyfus
authors.forename: R
authors.initials: R
authors.lastname: Massarelli
mesh_terms: D000818:Animals; D001921:Brain / Q000166:cytology* / Q000187:drug effects / Q000502:physiology; D005732:Gangliosides / Q000494:pharmacology*; D008854:Microscopy, Electron; D009457:Neuroglia / Q000187:drug effects / Q000502:physiology* / Q000648:ultrastructure; D010587:Phagocytosis / Q000187:drug effects*; D051381:Rats
chemical_list: D005732:Gangliosides