ABSTRACT
In the adult brain, astrocytes account for about 40% of the cell population in the central nervous system. Normal, reactive and neoplastic astrocytes can be identified in immunohistochemical preparations by means of glial fibrillary acid proteins (GFAP) expression. This protein is considered to be a sensitive indicator of xenobiotics toxicity. Previous studies have demonstrated that 2 mM LiCl induce alterations of astrocyte morphology after 18-20 days of treatment in vitro. We have decided to study GFAP expression under such conditions. Immunodetection and Western blotting assays have shown 2 mM of LiCl to induce alterations of GFAP expression both after 12 days of treatment and after 18-20 days. Moreover, 2 mM of LiCl induce an alteration of the proteinic composition of cells.
Subject(s)
Antimanic Agents/pharmacology , Astrocytes/metabolism , Glial Fibrillary Acidic Protein/biosynthesis , Lithium Chloride/pharmacology , Animals , Astrocytes/chemistry , Astrocytes/cytology , Blotting, Western , Brain/cytology , Cells, Cultured , Electrophoresis, Polyacrylamide Gel , Glial Fibrillary Acidic Protein/analysis , In Vitro Techniques , RatsABSTRACT
Previously performed light microscopy studies have demonstrated Hep2 tumoral cells to be sensitive to concentrations of LiCl 1 mM and 2 mM. At those concentrations, LiCl induces morphological alterations consisting in cell hypertrophy, formations of cells with several nuclei similar to syncytium, cytoplasmic projections. This study focuses on the action of LiCl on growth kinetics, cloning capacity and protein composition of Hep2 tumoral cells. We have found LiCl (1 mM and 2 mM) to influence all those parameters.
