Results In PC12 cells stably expressing rat P2Y1 receptors (PC12P2Y1), but not in wild type PC12 cells (PC12-wt), ADP induced rises in intracellular Ca2+ with half-maximal effects at 15 ± 1.3 μM. In whole-cell patch-clamp recordings, ADP inhibited ICa of PC12-P2Y1 cells (EC50: 6.3 ± 1.7 μM) and of PC12-wt (EC50: 3.8 ± 1.3 μM); this effect was not altered by the P2Y1 antagonist MRS 2216 (1 μM), ...

Conserved dopamine neurotrophic factor protects and rescues dopaminergic neurodegeneration induced by 6-hydroxydopamine in vivo, but its potential value in treating Parkinson's disease remains controversial. Here, we used the proteasome inhibitors lactacystin and MG132 to induce neurodegeneration of PC12 cells. Afterwards, conserved dopamine neurotrophic factor was administrated as a therapeuti...

Activated microglia can phagocytose dying, stressed, or excess neurons and synapses via the phagocytic receptor Mer tyrosine kinase (MerTK). Galectin-3 (Gal-3) can cross-link surface glycoproteins by binding galactose residues that are normally hidden below terminal sialic acid residues. Gal-3 was recently reported to opsonize cells via activating MerTK. We found that LPS-activated BV-2 microgl...

To examine the role of Ca2+/calmodulin-dependent protein kinase II (CaMKII) in cell differentiation and neuronal functions, stable transformants of PC12 cells were established that expressed levels of the alpha-subunit of CaMKII (alpha CaMKII) equivalent to mammalian neurons. The expression of the transfected alpha CaMKII gene or the endogenous beta CaMKII gene was monitored by RNase protection...

The PC12 subclone, fnr-PC12 cells, is defective in neurite outgrowth in response to acidic fibroblast growth factor (aFGF); however, its response to nerve growth factor (NGF) is normal. Examination of the expression of FGF receptors (FGFRs) revealed that although PC12 cells express FGFR-1, -3, and -4, fnr-PC12 cells have a reduced level of expression of FGFR-1 but not FGFR-3 and -4. Transfectio...

In order to investigate the effect of sodium ferulate (SF) on voltage-activated K+ channels, the delayed rectifier K+ current (Ik) in PC12 rat pheochromocytoma cells was recorded using the automated patch-clamp method. The results indicated that following the application of SF, the Ik in PC12 cells was significantly decreased in a concentration-dependent manner. The analysis of activation kinet...

AIM To study the effect of group I metabotropic glutamate receptor (mGluR) ligands on 6-hydroxydopamine (6-OHDA)-induced death and glutamate release of PC12 cells. METHODS PC12 cells were exposed to 100 micromol/L of group I mGluR agonist (RS)-3,5-dihydroxy-phenylglycine (DHPG) or antagonist DL-2-amino-3-phosphonopropionic acid (DL-AP3) 1 h before addition of 6-OHDA 100 micromol/L. After incu...

To address the means by which diversity of neuronal morphology is generated, we have isolated and characterized naturally occurring variants of rat PC12 pheochromocytoma cells that exhibit altered neurite outgrowth properties in response to nerve growth factor (NGF). We describe here a PC12 cell sub-clone, designated PC12-clone 41 (PC12-C41), that displays significant increases in neurite abund...

Cells of the rat neuronal line, PC12, adhere well to substrates coated with laminin and type IV collagen, but attach poorly to fibronectin. Adhesion and neurite extension in response to these extracellular matrix proteins are inhibited by Fab fragments of an antiserum (anti-ECMR) that recognizes PC12 cell surface integrin subunits of M~ 120,000, 140,000, and 180,000 (Tomaselli, K. J., C. H. Dam...

The increasing use of mobile phone communication has raised concerns about possible health hazard effects of microwave irradiation. We investigated damage and differentiation of PC12 mutant cells (PC12m3 cells) caused by microwave irradiation. The frequency of neurite outgrowth induced by 2.45 GHz (200 W) of microwave irradiation was approximately 10-fold greater than that in non-irradiated con...