Chicken cerebellar granule neurons rapidly develop excitotoxicity in culture.
Rat cerebellar granule cell culture is widely used as a model to study factors that control neuronal differentiation and death (e.g. excitotoxicity). However, a main drawback of this model is its dependence on depolarizing culture condition (25 mM potassium). In addition, it is quite expensive to maintain and requires animal facilities. Here we report that cerebellar granule neuron cultures from chicken may be used as an alternative model to study excitotoxicity. Surprisingly, fetal chicken cells may be grown in a physiological potassium concentration (5 mM potassium). They develop excitotoxicity rapidly in culture (fully developed at 3 days in vitro), and respond to glutamate excitotoxicity similar to rat cultures (ROS production and activation of caspase-3).
Department of Pharmaceutical Biosciences, University of Oslo, Norway.
Chris M
CM
Jacobs
Petra
P
Aden
Gro H
GH
Mathisen
Erica
E
Khuong
Mona
M
Gaarder
Else Marit
EM
Løberg
Jon
J
Lømo
Jan
J
Maehlen
Ragnhild E
RE
Paulsen
D000818:Animals; D053148:Caspase 3; D020169:Caspases / Q000378:metabolism; D002478:Cells, Cultured; D002531:Cerebellum / Q000166:cytology / Q000502:physiology*; D002642:Chick Embryo; D002645:Chickens / Q000502:physiology*; D003594:Cytoplasmic Granules / Q000502:physiology / Q000648:ultrastructure; D018846:Excitatory Amino Acids / Q000633:toxicity*; D005455:Fluorescent Antibody Technique; D005470:Fluorometry; D018698:Glutamic Acid / Q000633:toxicity*; D007150:Immunohistochemistry; D009474:Neurons / Q000502:physiology*; D011188:Potassium / Q000494:pharmacology; D051381:Rats; D017382:Reactive Oxygen Species / Q000378:metabolism; D016194:Receptors, N-Methyl-D-Aspartate / Q000187:drug effects; D013481:Superoxides / Q000378:metabolism
D018846:Excitatory Amino Acids; D017382:Reactive Oxygen Species; D016194:Receptors, N-Methyl-D-Aspartate; D013481:Superoxides; D018698:Glutamic Acid; C505410:Casp3 protein, rat; D053148:Caspase 3; D020169:Caspases; D011188:Potassium