Relationship Between Intracellular Free Calcium Concentration and NMDA-induced Cerebellar Granule Cell Survival In...

The survival of cerebellar granule cells in culture is stimulated by activation of the N-methyl-d-aspartate (NMDA) class of glutamate receptors. Activation of these receptors at the key period for cell survival in vitro (3 days; 3DIV) resulted in a sustained elevation of intracellular free calcium concentration [Ca2+]i over the same concentration range of NMDA that led to granule cell survival. Agents that release Ca2+ from intracellular stores led to only small, transient elevations of [Ca2+]i and were unable to stimulate granule cell survival. Addition of the Ca2+ ionophore ionomycin to granule cell cultures at 3DIV resulted in increased granule cell number at 7DIV. The ability of ionomycin to stimulate granule cell survival was related to the [Ca2+]i elicited, indicating that a rise in [Ca2+]i is sufficient to activate the processes leading to granule cell survival and that the extent of the elevation in [Ca2+]i is crucially important in determining granule cell fate.