pubmed:abstractText |
Cortical cells from embryonic mice (E17) showed a rapid cell-death under the serum-free condition. The addition of nefiracetam at 0.1-10 microM increased the survival activity, while aniracetam at the same concentrations did not. The cell death was characterized to be apoptotic, since dead cells showed nuclear condensation, fragmentation, and TUNEL-positive staining. The nefiracetam-induced anti-apoptotic activity was completely blocked by 1 microM nifedipine or omega-conotoxin GVIA, and partially by 1 microM verapamil. These results suggest that the reported anti-amnesic action of nefiracetam in ischemic animals may be partly attributed to the neuroprotective action.
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pubmed:affiliation |
Department of Molecular Pharmacology and Neuroscience, Nagasaki University School of Pharmaceutical Sciences, 1-14 Bunkyo-Machi, Nagasaki 852-8521, Japan.
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