Abstract:

Abstract:Objective To study the effect of activin A on voltage-gated sodium current(INa) of Neuro-2a cells and mechanism in order to lay a foundation for the application of activin A in nerve system diseases. Methods Neuro-2a cells were divided into IgG control group and anti-ActRⅡA antibody-stained group. Immunohistochemical staining was used to observe whether ActRⅡ A was expressed in Neuro-2a cells. The Neuro-2a cells were randomly divided into normal control group and activin A administration group. Whole cell patch clamp was used to analyze the effect of activin A on INa  of Neuro-2a cells. The expressions of vasoactive intestinal peptide(VIP) and inducible nitric oxide synthase(iNOS) mRNA were examined by RT-PCR in Neuro-2a cells treated with activin A. Results ActRⅡA expression was detectable in normal Neuro-2a cells. Compared with control group,activin A increased INa in Neuro-2a cells significantly (P<0.05).The VIP mRNA expression in activin A group was higher than that in control group (P<0.05),while the expression of iNOS mRNA was lower than  that in control group (P<0.05). Conclusion Activin A can increase INa of Neuro-2a cells and the effect of activin A on regulating the neuron function may be mediated via VIP and iNOS pathways.

Key words: activin A;neuro-2a cell;voltage-gated Na+ current