High potassium and cyclic AMP analog promote neuronal survival of basal forebrain cholinergic neurons in culture from postnatal 2-week-old rats.
We found depolarization-dependent promotion of survival of cultured basal forebrain cholinergic neurons from postnatal 2-week-old rats. Over 30 mM KCl (high K+) as well as nerve growth factor (NGF) induced considerably high choline acetyltransferase (ChAT) activity and the increase was potentiated by the addition of BAY K8644, a Ca2+ channel agonist. The increase in ChAT activity by high K+ was due to the increased number of viable acetylcholinesterase-positive and ChAT-positive neurons. Also, a cyclic AMP analog gave the same effect as high K+, but its ability to induce the ChAT activity was higher than that of high K+. On the other hand, both high K+ and NGF had very little effects on the survival of the cultured cholinergic neurons from 10-week-old rats. Cyclic AMP analog induced considerable increase in ChAT activity and promotion of survival of cholinergic neurons in the 10-week-old culture. These findings showed that the neuronal death occurring just of the end of synapse formation in rat basal forebrain cholinergic neurons could be prevented by NGF and high K+, but the death of older cholinergic neurons could not. We propose the possibility that the death of postnatal 2-week-old basal forebrain cholinergic neurons in culture might be programmed cell death.
Nakamura
M
M
Division of Protein Biosynthesis, Osaka University, Japan.
Nishio
C
C
Nonomura
T
T
Hatanaka
H
H
D000109:Acetylcholine / Q000502:physiology*; D000375:Aging / Q000473:pathology; D000818:Animals; D002470:Cell Survival / Q000187:drug effects; D002478:Cells, Cultured; D002795:Choline O-Acetyltransferase / Q000187:drug effects; D003470:Culture Media; D000242:Cyclic AMP / Q000031:analogs & derivatives* / Q000494:pharmacology; D005260:Female; D008297:Male; D009414:Nerve Growth Factors / Q000494:pharmacology; D009474:Neurons / Q000187:drug effects*; D011188:Potassium / Q000494:pharmacology*; D016548:Prosencephalon / Q000166:cytology / Q000187:drug effects*; D051381:Rats; D017208:Rats, Wistar; D013873:Thionucleotides / Q000494:pharmacology*
D003470:Culture Media; D009414:Nerve Growth Factors; D013873:Thionucleotides; C015929:8-((4-chlorophenyl)thio)cyclic-3',5'-AMP; D000242:Cyclic AMP; D002795:Choline O-Acetyltransferase; D000109:Acetylcholine; D011188:Potassium