The choroid plexus contains a major reservoir of macrophages poised for efficient delivery of virus and neurotoxins to the brain after infection by lentiviruses such as human or feline immunodeficiency virus (FIV). However, their contribution to neurotoxicity is poorly understood. Medium from FIV-infected, choroid plexus macrophages applied to cultured feline cortical neurons induced a small acute calcium rise followed by either a delayed calcium deregulation (41%) or swelling and bursting (23%). NMDA glutamate receptor blockade prevented the acute calcium increase and antagonists to the IP(3) receptor, voltage-gated calcium channels and sodium channels suppressed both the acute and late increases. Analysis of intracellular calcium recovery in toxin-treated neurons after a brief exposure to glutamate, revealed a decrease in the rate and extent of recovery. The apparent diverse pharmacological contributions to intracellular calcium destabilization may be due to the ability of macrophage toxins to interfere with recovery of intracellular calcium homeostasis.
(c)2002 Elsevier Science (USA).