Chloroquine inhibits the activation of astrocyte in vitro

Objective To investigate the effects of Chliroquine on Pentylenetetrazole(PTZ)-activated hippocampal astrocytes of rats.Methods eonatal rat(24h) hippocampal astrocytes were obtained and divided into control group,PTZ-activated group and Chliroquine groups with Chliroquine treatment at 25,50,75 mg/L.The cell proliferation,expression of glial fibrillary acidic protein(GFAP) and CyclinD1 after the treatments were detected with MTT assay,immunofluorescence cytochemistry and western blot respectively.Results N Results In comparison with control group,PTZ could induce the activation of astrocytes and increase the expressions of GFAP and CyclinD1(P0.05),In comparison with PTZ-activation group,Chliroquine treatment resulted in significant inhibition of the cell proliferation,GFAP and CyclinD1 in the PTZ-activated astrocytes(P0.05).Chliroquine at 75 mg/L showed the strongest inhibitory effects against astrocyte activation while maintained nearly normal level of astrocyte activation in comparison with the control group.Conclusions Chliroquine could inhibit PTZ-induced activation of astrocytes,suggesting that chliroquine may function as potential medicine for epilepsy.