Prostaglandin E2 induces differentiation of NSC-34 cells with neuron-like features

Abstract

Prostaglandin E2 (PGE2), one of the major lipid mediators produced by the arachidonic acid cascade, is involved in various physiological effects. We demonstrated previously that PGE2 suppressed cell proliferation and promoted neurite outgrowth, a morphological marker of neuronal cell differentiation, in NSC-34 cells, a hybrid cell line produced by fusion of motor neuron-enriched spinal cord cells with mouse neuroblastoma cells and that E-prostanoid receptor 2 subtype plays a role in the PGE2-induced differentiation of NSC-34 cells. However, electrophysiological characteristics of differentiated NSC-34 cells by PGE2 still remains to be elucidated. In the present study, we compared the electrophysiological properties of the NSC-34 cells differentiated by PGE2 to those by retinoic acid (RA) using whole-cell patch clamp techniques.