Abstract:

Objective To investigate developmental expression of NMDAR1（NR1） subunit on cultured cerebral cortical neurons of fetal rats in vitro.  Methods  Cerebral cortical neurons were primarily cultured from pregnant 14～15d fetal rats.Purity of neurons and location of NR1 subunit were identified by immunofluorescence, and expression of NR1 subunit was determined by flow cytometry and Western blot.  Results The purity of neurons was more than 90%. Immunofluorescence showed that NR1 subunit is mainly located on the membrane of neuronic bodies and dendritic stems. Flow cytometry showed that average fluorescence intensity of NR1 subunit on 1d, 2d, 3d, 4d, 6d, 9d, and 12d was 4.57±0.99, 8.18±1.22, 13.67±1.99, 20.33±1.03, 26.30±2.88, 31.71±2.47, and 28.63±1.40,respectively. Western blot showed that the membrane protein NR1 subunit expression was weak on 1-2d, and gradually strengthened on 3-6d, then remained stably.  Conclusion Expression of NR1 subunit on cultured cerebral cortical neurons of fetal rats has developmental changes, which is related to neuronic maturity.

Key words: Cerebral cortex; Neurons； Cell culture; Receptors,N-methyl-D-aspartate; Rats, Wistar