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Imaging Intracellular Ca2+ Signals in Striatal Astrocytes from Adult Mice Using Genetically-encoded Calcium Indicators

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Cocaine affects astrocyte iNOS expression.

Wei Yin¹, Marina Fandaros¹, Yanzuo Liu¹

¹Department of Biomedical Engineering, Stony Brook University, Stony Brook, NY 11794, United States.

|November 23, 2025

Summary

This summary is machine-generated.

Cocaine exposure alters astrocyte morphology and inducible nitric oxide synthase (iNOS) expression. While in vitro studies show increased iNOS, chronic cocaine use in mice decreases astrocyte numbers and iNOS in the prefrontal cortex.

Keywords:

Astrocytes Cocaine In vitro model In vivo model Pre-frontal cortex iNOS

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Area of Science:

Neuroscience
Cell Biology
Pharmacology

Background:

Astrocytes are crucial in brain pathology and express inducible nitric oxide synthase (iNOS).
Both iNOS and nitric oxide (NO) are implicated in cocaine addiction.
The direct impact of cocaine on astrocyte iNOS expression remains unclear.

Purpose of the Study:

To investigate the direct effects of cocaine on astrocyte iNOS expression.
To explore cocaine's influence on astrocyte morphology and number.
To elucidate the role of astrocytes and iNOS in cocaine addiction.

Main Methods:

In vitro human astrocyte cultures treated with cocaine.
In vivo chronic cocaine administration in a mouse model.
Measurement of iNOS expression via ELISA and Western blot.
Quantification of astrocyte morphology using Sholl analysis.
Assessment of astrocyte number and iNOS levels in mouse prefrontal cortex.

Main Results:

Cocaine induced significant morphological changes in astrocytes in vitro.
Cocaine exposure led to increased astrocyte iNOS expression in vitro.
Chronic cocaine treatment reduced astrocyte numbers and iNOS expression in the mouse prefrontal cortex.

Conclusions:

Astrocytes directly respond to cocaine stimulation, with iNOS playing a role.
Findings suggest astrocytes and iNOS are involved in cocaine addiction mechanisms.
This research may identify novel therapeutic targets for cocaine use disorder.