Glial cells, human fetal

Activated macrophages and microglia are likely cellular sources of IL-1 in the central nervous system. IL-la and p, both 17-kDa proteins, are the products of two distinct genes and produce many of the same effects that TNF has on glial cells. IL-1 upregulates cytokine production, includes cell surface molecules, activates nitric oxide, and stimulates proliferation. When used alone, IL-1 and TNFa both stimulate nitric oxide production in C6 cells. However, in human fetal astrocyte cultures, IL-1 is a better nitric oxide inducer when used in combination with IFNy. 

Tomatore C, Nath A, Amemiya K, Major EO (1991) Persistent human immunodeficiency virus type 1 infecdon in human fetal glial cells reaedvated by T-cell factor(s) or by the cytokines tumor necrosis factor alpha and interleukin-1 beta. J Virol 65 6094—6100. 

TABLE I Total Nitric Oxide (Micromolar) Production by Human Adult Blood Macrophages, Fetal Microglia, and Fetal Mixed Glial Cells... 

Purified microglia and mixed glial cells were cultured from one sample of human fetal brain tissue (Mitrovic et al., 1994). Cells (5 X 10 ) were seeded into separate plates and stimulated in the same manner as the macrophages. Ninety percent of the cells in the mixed glial cell culture were astrocytes and 10% were microglia. 

TABLE IV Effect of Human Fetal Glial Cell Activation on Various Factors"... 

Aneuploidy is consequential to mitotic errors malignantly transformed cells frequently commit mitotic errors. In fetal life, the developing human brain suffers of chromosomal segregational defects during mitoses of glial cells and neurons. Aneuploid brain cells are eliminated by apoptosis. Areas not cleared by apoptosis, remain confined to sites of chromosomal mosaicism. The presence of functionally active aneuploid neurons negatively affect neuron-to-neuron and neuron-to-gUal interactions [1291]. 

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