[Effect of human brain extracts on cultured neuroblastoma cells]

To identify the effect of brain extracts from people of different age groups on possible changes in cell physiology and behavior in vitro.

Human frontal cortical segments were obtained 12-24 hours after autopsy. Brain tissue extract was taken from young people who died at age of 22.5±2.7 years and old people at 80.9±3.0 years. SK-N-MC human neuroblastoma cells were cultured in a medium containing 50 mg/ml of brain tissue extracts; blood serum (50 mg/ml) from healthy people was used as a control. Procedures for cytophotometry of DNA and acidic proteins and polarized light microscopy were used.

A short-term decrease in acidic protein levels in the nucleus and nucleolus was found to be affected by brain extracts from old people. There were higher cytoplasmic acidic protein levels. At the same time, the same indicators generally remained noticeably unchanged under the influence of brain extracts from young people. There were also simultaneous pronounced changes in cell morphology and behavior in vitro; namely, neuronal cell processes became shorter and their proliferative activity increased, which was not least a result of the unblocking of cells in the G2 phase under the influence of brain extracts from old people.

The factors that accelerate cell proliferation in vitro accumulate in the human brain with age. Simultaneously with the acceleration of cell proliferation, there are changes in cell metabolic activity and morphology.