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Influence of temocapril on cultured ventral spinal cord neurons
Yasuo Iwasaki1, Yasumitsu Ichikawa, Osamu Igarash
1Fourth Department of Internal Medicine, Toho University Ohashi Hospital, 2-17-6 Ohashi Meguro-Ku, Tokyo 153-8515, Japan. yaso@med.toho-u.ac.jp
Abstract:
Temocapril, a angiotensin-converting enzyme (ACE) inhibitor, was tested for neurotrophic activity in primary explant cultures of ventral spinal cord of fetal rats (VSCC). Temocapril had a remarkable effect on neurite outgrowth with a 4.2- to 5.1-fold increased over that of control VSCC at their effective concentrations. In temocapril-treated VSCC, choline acetyltransferase (ChAT) activity was also increased 2.4-3.2 times over that of control at 10(-9) and 10(-8) M, respectively. Our data suggest that temocapril is a candidate for neurotrophic factors on spinal motor neurons in vitro. A possible therapeutic role for temocapril in damaged motor neurons, such as in motor neuropathy and amyotrophic lateral sclerosis, remains to be defined.