ABSTRACT
Aim To explore the effects of hydrocortisone on intracellular calcium in microglial cells.Methods The intracellular calcium was measured by instantaneous scanning with confocal laser microscope(CLM) in BV-2 cells, and fluo3-AM was used to dye the intracellular calcium.Results Both hydrocortisone and nicotine could obviously increase intracellular calcium in BV-2 cells(P0.05);but the blocker of α7 nicotinic acetylcholine receptor(α7nAChR) methyllycaconitine could suppress the rising of intracellular calcium induced by hydrocortisone(P<0.05).Conclusion Hydrocortisone enhances intracellular calcium via α7nAChR in microglial cells, which not only demonstrates the non-genomic effect of glucocorticoid, but also suggests that glucocorticoid could serve as endogenous ligand of α7nAChR.