Effects of tacrine upon murine neuroblastoma cells

Tacrine [9-amino-1,2,3,4-tetrahydroacridine] (THA), a potent acetylcholinesterasic inhibitor, is utilized in the pharmacological treatment of Alzheimer's disease (Birne and Arie, 1994). Cytopharmacology of THA is still largely to be discovered. In the present paper we report some effects produced by THA on murine neuroblastoma cells (N2A) used as an experimental model. N2A cells treated with THA at low concentration (1 mu M) showed a reduced cell's mitosis and a remarkable reduction of protein synthesis. Eventually, a marked reduction on the phosphorylation of proteins associated to neurofilaments 200 kD, is observed using specific antibody.