Ketamine protects cultured astrocytes from glutamate-induced swelling

Effects of ketamine on glutamate-induced swelling of astrocytes in primary cell culture were studied. Following the exposure to 1 mM glutamate (Glu) for 4 h the intracellular water space (as measured by 3-O-methyl-[14C]glucose uptake) of astrocytes was increased by two-fold concomitant with cell swelling and disappearance of cellular processes observed by phase-contrast microscopy. Ketamine, when co-incubated with Glu, reduced the astrocytic swelling in a dose-dependent manner. These data suggested that ketamine, in addition to its function as a non-competitive N-methyl-D-aspartate receptor antagonist, is also involved in protecting astrocytes from Glu-induced swelling.