title: Ca2+ and in vitro kainate damage to cortical and hippocampal SMI-32(+) neurons.
abstract: SMI-32 is a monoclonal antibody to non-phosphorylated neurofilament epitopes, which labels subsets of pyramidal neurons prone to degeneration in Alzheimer's disease. We found SMI-32 to identify a small minority of neurons in dissociated cultures of murine cortex and hippocampus (SMI-32(+) neurons). Labeled neurons, which were larger than average and were often immunoreactive for GABA, were preferentially destroyed by brief kainate exposures. This rapidly triggered kainate damage to SMI-32(+) neurons was dependent upon the presence of Ca2+ in the media during the toxic exposure. Furthermore, most SMI-32(+) neurons in both cortex and hippocampus were subject to kainate-activated cobalt uptake, a histochemical procedure that marks cells with Ca2+ permeable AMPA/kainate channels. The unusual vulnerability of cortical and hippocampal SMI-32(+) neurons to AMPA/kainate receptor-mediated injury may result from rapid Ca2+ entry through Ca2+ permeable AMPA/kainate receptor-gated channels.
authors.affiliation: Department of Neurology, University of California, Irvine 92717-4290, USA.
authors.forename: S J
authors.initials: SJ
authors.lastname: Burke
authors.forename: H Z
authors.initials: HZ
authors.lastname: Yin
authors.forename: J H
authors.initials: JH
authors.lastname: Weiss
mesh_terms: D000818:Animals; D000911:Antibodies, Monoclonal; D002118:Calcium / Q000494:pharmacology*; D002478:Cells, Cultured; D007608:Kainic Acid / Q000633:toxicity*; D051379:Mice; D017966:Pyramidal Cells / Q000187:drug effects* / Q000473:pathology; D018091:Receptors, AMPA / Q000187:drug effects; D018092:Kainic Acid Receptors / Q000187:drug effects; D013194:Staining and Labeling
chemical_list: D000911:Antibodies, Monoclonal; D002118:Calcium; D007608:Kainic Acid; D018091:Receptors, AMPA; D018092:Kainic Acid Receptors