Production of NGF, BDNF and GDNF in mouse astrocyte cultures is strongly enhanced by a cerebral vasodilator, ifenprodil

Neurosci Lett. 2005 May 13;379(3):185-9. doi: 10.1016/j.neulet.2004.12.063. Epub 2005 Jan 21.

Abstract

Ifenprodil, a non-competitive NMDA-receptor antagonist, has been shown to exhibit marked cytoprotective activities in animal models for focal ischemia and Parkinson's disease. To test the hypothesis that the cytoprotective effect is due to the release of neurotrophic factors (NTFs), we examined the effects of ifenprodil on the NTF contents in mouse astrocyte cultures. The results revealed that ifenprodil strongly enhanced the production of nerve growth factor (NGF), brain-derived neurotrophic factor (BDNF) and glial cell-derived neurotrophic factor (GDNF) in these cultures. The ifenprodil-induced NGF secretion was found to be partially mediated by the activation of protein kinase C (PKC) and p42/p44 mitogen-activated protein (MAP) kinase cascade pathways. These findings suggest that the cytoprotective effects of ifenprodil are probably attributed to enhanced secretion of these NTFs from astrocytes.

Publication types

  • Comparative Study

MeSH terms

  • Animals
  • Animals, Newborn
  • Astrocytes / drug effects*
  • Astrocytes / metabolism
  • Blotting, Northern / methods
  • Brain-Derived Neurotrophic Factor / genetics
  • Brain-Derived Neurotrophic Factor / metabolism*
  • Cells, Cultured
  • Cerebral Cortex / cytology
  • Dose-Response Relationship, Drug
  • Enzyme Inhibitors / pharmacology
  • Enzyme-Linked Immunosorbent Assay / methods
  • Excitatory Amino Acid Antagonists / pharmacology*
  • Glial Cell Line-Derived Neurotrophic Factor
  • Indoles / pharmacology
  • Maleimides / pharmacology
  • Mice
  • Mice, Inbred ICR
  • Mitogen-Activated Protein Kinases / metabolism
  • Nerve Growth Factor / genetics
  • Nerve Growth Factor / metabolism*
  • Nerve Growth Factors / genetics
  • Nerve Growth Factors / metabolism*
  • Piperidines / pharmacology*
  • Protein Kinase C / metabolism
  • RNA, Messenger / metabolism
  • Reverse Transcriptase Polymerase Chain Reaction / methods
  • Tetradecanoylphorbol Acetate / analogs & derivatives*
  • Tetradecanoylphorbol Acetate / pharmacology
  • Time Factors

Substances

  • Brain-Derived Neurotrophic Factor
  • Enzyme Inhibitors
  • Excitatory Amino Acid Antagonists
  • Gdnf protein, mouse
  • Glial Cell Line-Derived Neurotrophic Factor
  • Indoles
  • Maleimides
  • Nerve Growth Factors
  • Piperidines
  • RNA, Messenger
  • 4-O-methyl-12-O-tetradecanoylphorbol 13-acetate
  • Nerve Growth Factor
  • Protein Kinase C
  • Mitogen-Activated Protein Kinases
  • bisindolylmaleimide
  • Tetradecanoylphorbol Acetate
  • ifenprodil