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Acidic pH rapidly increases immunoreactivity of glial fibrillary acidic protein in cultured astrocytes
Author(s) -
Oh Tae H.,
Markelonis George J.,
Von Visger Jon R.,
Baik Bonsook,
Shipley Michael T.
Publication year - 1995
Publication title -
glia
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 2.954
H-Index - 164
eISSN - 1098-1136
pISSN - 0894-1491
DOI - 10.1002/glia.440130408
Subject(s) - glial fibrillary acidic protein , astrocyte , biology , gfap stain , cycloheximide , neuroglia , extracellular , biochemistry , microbiology and biotechnology , immunocytochemistry , endocrinology , protein biosynthesis , immunology , central nervous system , immunohistochemistry
Neuroepithelial progenitor cells from forebrains of newborn rat pups develop into “mature” astrocytes in an epidermal growth factor‐containing medium free of serum (Von Visger et al: Exp Neurol 128:34, 1994). Eight‐week‐old “mature” astrocyte cultures on poly‐L‐lysine‐coated dishes were exposed to an acidic medium (pH 5.8–6.0) for 2–6 h. Immunoreactivity for glial fibrillary acidic protein (GFAP) dramatically and rapidly increased; this immediate increase was not affected by pretreatment with cycloheximide. In further experiments we found that the increase in GFAP was undiminished for 24–48 h after the acid‐treated astrocytes were returned to normal growth medium. The Ca 2+ channel antagonists nifedipine and diltiazem attenuated the increase in GFAP immunoreactivity. These results suggest that extracellular acidosis may produce a rapid increase in GFAP immunoreactivity in astrocytes independent of de novo protein synthesis, possibly by increasing intracellular levels of free Ca 2+ ions. Copy 1995 Wiley‐Liss, Inc.