Corrent information from studies in animal models indicates that perinatal exposure to atcohol produces a variety of damaging consequences in the central nervous system. These mayresult from direct neurotoxic effects of ethanol on the CNS, a system known to be particularlysusceptible to environmental influences during development.
The present study was undertaken to investigate the effects of ethanol on the neuronal viability and neurite outgrowth, one of the critical steps in neuronal differentiation, in primarycultured neuronal and glial cells of rat hippocampus.
Cell cultures were prepared on embryonic day 17 (E17) for treatment with a series ofethanol concentrations (10, 100, 500, and 1000mM). Effect of ethanol was investigated at 0, 18, and 24 hour fo11owing ethanol treatment. To study the changes in proliferation of glialcells, protein content was measured at 7 day in vitro.
The results are as fo11ows :
1) Ethanol did not altered neuronal survival or attachment to the substrate at any of the concentrations that were used.
2) 10 or 100mM ethanol was associated with significant increase in the total neurite length per cell.
3) 10 or 100mM ethanol markedly increased and 1000mM ethanol decreased protein contents on 7 day in vitro.
These findings suggested that ethanol mar have distinct effects on neurite outgrowth andalso indicated that high concentration of ethanol (500~1000mM) and long period of exposure(3~7days) were required to produce toxic effects on neurons and glial cells in this system.
