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Rapid Elevation of Calcium Concentration in Cultured Dorsal Spinal Cord Astrocytes by Corticosterone

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Abstract

In addition to the classic genomic effects, increasing evidence suggests that GC can generate multiple rapid effects on many tissues and cells through nongenomic pathway. In the present study, the effects of corticosterone (CORT) on the intracellular calcium concentration ([Ca2+]i) in cultured dorsal spinal cord astrocytes were detected with confocal laser scanning microscopy using fluo-4/AM as a calcium fluorescent indicator that could monitor real-time alterations of [Ca2+]i. CORT (0.01–10 μM) caused a rapid increase in [Ca2+]i with a dose-dependent manner in cultured dorsal spinal cord astrocytes. The action of CORT on astrocytic [Ca2+]i was blocked by pertussis toxin (a blocker of G protein activation, 100 ng/ml), but was unaffected by RU38486 (glucocorticoid receptor antagonist, 10 μM). In addition, cycloheximide (protein-synthesis inhibitor, 10 μg/ml) pretreatment could not impair the CORT-evoked [Ca2+]i elevation. Furthermore, Ca2+ mobilization induced by CORT was abolished by chelerythrine chloride (protein kinase C inhibitor, 10 μM), but was not impaired by H89 (protein kinase A inhibitor, 10 μM). These observations suggest that a nongenomic pathways might be involved in the effect of CORT on [Ca2+]i in cultured dorsal spinal cord astrocytes. In addition, our results also raise a possibility that a putative pertussis toxin-sensitive mGCR (G-protein-coupled membrane-bound glucocorticoid receptor) and the downstream activation of protein kinase C may be responsible for CORT-induced Ca2+ mobilization in cultured dorsal spinal cord astrocytes.

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Acknowledgments

This work is supported by the National Natural Science Foundation of China (No.30960126 and 31000497). We are very grateful to the other staff of Department of Physiology. We also thank Guo Luo and Jing-yu Xu (Central Laboratory, Zunyi Medical College) for their technique assistance in laser scanning confocal microscopy.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of physiology, Zunyi Medical College, 201 Dalian Street, Zunyi, Guizhou, 563000, People’s Republic of China

    Junwei Zeng, Min Li, Zhi Xiao, Yuanshou Chen, Quanzhong Chang, Hong Tian, Huan Jin & Xiaohong Liu

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  1. Junwei Zeng
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  2. Min Li
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  3. Zhi Xiao
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  4. Yuanshou Chen
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  8. Xiaohong Liu
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Correspondence to Xiaohong Liu.

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Junwei Zeng and Min Li contributed equally to this study.

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Zeng, J., Li, M., Xiao, Z. et al. Rapid Elevation of Calcium Concentration in Cultured Dorsal Spinal Cord Astrocytes by Corticosterone. Neurochem Res 38, 382–388 (2013). https://doi.org/10.1007/s11064-012-0929-4

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s11064-012-0929-4

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