Inducible Expression of Neuronal Glutamate Receptor Channels in the NT2 Human Cell Line

• Published in: Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences - PNAS 1993-03, Vol.90 (6), p.2174-2178
• Main Authors: Younkin, Donald P., Tang, Cha-Min, Hardy, Mattie, Reddy, Usha R., Shi, Qing-Yao, Pleasure, Samuel J., Virginia M.-Y. Lee, Pleasure, David
• Format: Article
• Language: English
• Subjects: 2-Amino-5-phosphonovalerate - pharmacology; Amino Acid Sequence; Aminoacid receptors (glycine, glutamate, gaba); Animals; Base Sequence; Biological and medical sciences; Biology; Cell lines; Cell receptors; Cell structures and functions; Cellular differentiation; Central nervous system; Cultured cells; DNA, Neoplasm - genetics; DNA, Neoplasm - isolation & purification; Electric current; expression; Fundamental and applied biological sciences. Psychology; GluR channels; Glutamates - pharmacology; Glutamic Acid; Glycine - pharmacology; Humans; induction; Ion Channels - drug effects; Ion Channels - genetics; Ion Channels - physiology; Kinetics; Magnesium - pharmacology; man; Membrane Potentials - drug effects; Molecular and cellular biology; Molecular Sequence Data; N methyl D aspartate receptors; N-methyl-D-aspartic acid; N-Methylaspartate - pharmacology; Neurology; Neurons; Neurons - physiology; Neuroscience; NT2 cells; Oligodeoxyribonucleotides; PC12 cells; Polymerase chain reaction; Polymerase Chain Reaction - methods; Rats; receptors; Receptors, Glutamate - biosynthesis; Receptors, Glutamate - genetics; Receptors, Glutamate - physiology; Receptors, N-Methyl-D-Aspartate - biosynthesis; Receptors, N-Methyl-D-Aspartate - genetics; retinoic acid; RNA, Messenger - analysis; RNA, Messenger - genetics; RNA, Neoplasm - genetics; RNA, Neoplasm - isolation & purification; Sequence Homology, Amino Acid; Teratoma; Tumor Cells, Cultured
• ISSN: 0027-8424; 1091-6490
• DOI: 10.1073/pnas.90.6.2174

Glutamate receptor (GluR) channels are responsible for a number of fundamental properties of the mammalian central nervous system, including nearly all excitatory synaptic transmission, synaptic plasticity, and excitotoxin-mediated neuronal death. Although many human and rodent neuroblast cell lines are available, none has been directly shown to express GluR channels. We report here that cells from the human teratocarcinoma line NT2 are induced by retinoic acid to express neuronal N-methyl-D-aspartate (NMDA) and non-NMDA GluR channels concomitant with their terminal differentiation into neuron-like cells. The molecular and physiologic characteristics of these human GluR channels are nearly identical to those in central nervous system neurons, as demonstrated by PCR and patch clamp recordings, and the cells demonstrate glutamate-induced neurotoxicity.