title: A flow cytometric study of N-methyl-D-aspartate effects on dissociated cerebellar cells.
abstract: The effects of N-methyl-D-aspartate (NMDA) on the generation of intracellular reactive oxygen species (ROS) and intracellular calcium in rat dissociated cerebellar cells were examined by flow cytometry. Flow cytometry allows the selection of a specific viable neuronal population with high sensitivity. We used 2',7'-dichlorofluorescin diacetate (DCFH-DA) as a marker of intracellular oxidative stress, and intracellular calcium was measured using Indo-1 as a calcium-sensitive indicator. The cerebellar cell population was isolated by size, granularity and NMDA-sensitivity by cell-sorting. In this cerebellar cell preparation, in which no glial cells were found, NMDA induced a concentration-dependent increase in ROS and intracellular calcium levels. These effects were inhibited by the non-competitive NMDA antagonist (+)MK-801. These results indicate that flow cytometry could be a useful tool to study the effect of neuroprotective drugs on NMDA receptor in isolated cerebellar neurons. Moreover, due to its high speed of analysis and the possibility to detect simultaneously a variety of fluorescent markers, we stated the utility of this technique in the pharmacology and physiology of the central nervous system.
authors.affiliation: Laboratory of Pharmacology and Pharmacognosy, Faculty of Pharmacy, University of Barcelona, Spain.
authors.forename: F X
authors.initials: FX
authors.lastname: Sureda
authors.forename: A
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Camins
authors.forename: R
authors.initials: R
authors.lastname: Trullas
authors.forename: J
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Camarasa
authors.forename: E
authors.initials: E
authors.lastname: Escubedo
mesh_terms: D000818:Animals; D002118:Calcium / Q000378:metabolism*; D002478:Cells, Cultured / Q000187:drug effects; D002531:Cerebellum / Q000187:drug effects*; D016291:Dizocilpine Maleate / Q000494:pharmacology; D004305:Dose-Response Relationship, Drug; D005434:Flow Cytometry; D016202:N-Methylaspartate / Q000494:pharmacology*; D018384:Oxidative Stress / Q000187:drug effects; D051381:Rats; D017207:Rats, Sprague-Dawley
chemical_list: D016202:N-Methylaspartate; D016291:Dizocilpine Maleate; D002118:Calcium