Activin A maintains cerebral cortex neuronal survival and increases voltage-gated Na＋ neuronal current

摘要

Activin A,which was first described in 1986,has been shown to maintain hippocampal neuronal survival.Activin A increases intracellular free Ca2+ via L-type Ca2+ channels.Our previous study showed that activin A promotes neurite growth of dorsal root ganglia in embryonic chickens and inhibits nitric oxide secretion.The present study demonstrated for the first time that activin A could maintain cerebral cortex neuronal survival in vitro for a long period,and that activin A was shown to increase voltage-gated Na+ current(INa) in Neuro-2a cells,which was recorded by patch clamp technique.The present study revealed a novel mechanism for activin A,as well as the influence of activin A on neurons by regulating expressions of vasoactive intestine peptide and inducible nitric oxide synthase.