Pharmacological and Functional Heterogeneity of Astrocytes: Regional Differences in Phospholipase C Stimulation by Neuromediators

Abstract
Carbamylcholine stimulated phospholipase C activity in astrocytes in primary culture from the mesencephalon but not from the striatum or cerebral cortex of the mouse embryo. An .alpha.1-adrenergic-mediated response was observed in all astrocyte populations. 2-Chloroadenosine potentiated the .alpha.1-adrenergic response in mesencephalic and striatal astrocytes but not in cortical astrocytes. It also stimulated the carbamylcholine-evoked response in mesencephalic astrocytes. Through cell-cell cooperation, 2-chloroadenosine potentiated the neuronal carbamylcholine-evoked activation of phospholipase C in homotopic cocultures (neuro-glial) from the striatum but not in homotopic cocultures (neuro-glial) from the cerebral cortex or in heterotopic cocultures (cortical astrocytes-striatal neurons: striatal astrocytes-cortical neurons).