title: Manganese stimulates stellation of cultured rat cortical astrocytes.
abstract: We investigated the effect of manganese on the morphology of cultured rat cortical astrocytes. Astrocytes exhibited flattened, polygonal morphology in the absence of stimulation, and differentiated into process-bearing stellate cells following exposure to MnCl(2). MnCl(2)-induced stellation was a reversible process, which depended on the presence of extracellular free manganese. MnCl(2)-induced stellation did not stop with the introduction of pertussis toxin, PD98059, SB203580, phorbol 12-myristat 13-acetate, SQ22536, or LY83583. Alternatively, MnCl(2)-induced stellation did stop when exposed to colchicine and sodium orthovanadate, suggesting the involvement of the cytoskeletal elements and orthovanadate-sensitive protein tyrosine phosphatase. MnCl(2) might function as a factor regulating astrocyte morphology.
authors.affiliation: Department of Education and Research, Taichung Veterans General Hospital, No. 160, Sec. 3, Taichung-Gang Road, Taichung 40705, Taiwan, Republic of China.
authors.forename: S L
authors.initials: SL
authors.lastname: Liao
authors.forename: C J
authors.initials: CJ
authors.lastname: Chen
mesh_terms: D000818:Animals; D001253:Astrocytes / Q000166:cytology* / Q000187:drug effects* / Q000201:enzymology; D048429:Cell Size / Q000187:drug effects; D002478:Cells, Cultured; D002540:Cerebral Cortex / Q000166:cytology; D002712:Chlorides / Q000494:pharmacology*; D066298:In Vitro Techniques; D017895:Manganese Compounds / Q000494:pharmacology*; D017027:Protein Tyrosine Phosphatases / Q000378:metabolism; D051381:Rats; D017207:Rats, Sprague-Dawley
chemical_list: D002712:Chlorides; D017895:Manganese Compounds; D017027:Protein Tyrosine Phosphatases; C025340:manganese chloride