Figure 2.

Effect of IL-1β treatment on calcium wave transmission in cultured human fetal astrocytes. Confluent cultures were loaded with Indo-1AM (A–D) and subjected to mechanical stimulation as described for Fig. 1. The spread of calcium wave in control cultures in the absence (A) or presence (B) of suramin is shown. The spread in cultures treated with 10 ng/ml IL-1β for 24 hr in the absence (C) or presence (D) of suramin is also shown. Before stimulation, the Indo-1 fluorescence ratio was between 0.8 and 1.0 for all cells in all conditions, and images shown were captured 10 sec after mechanical stimulation, corresponding to maximal extent of wave spread for all conditions. Treatment with IL-1β had striking differential effects on the efficacy of wave transmission in the absence or presence of suramin (E). Note the potentiation of efficacy of wave transmission by IL-1β (∗, P < 0.05), and the striking reduction in wave transmission via the suramin-insensitive pathway (∗∗, P < 0.01). Data shown are derived from six separate confluent fields (approximately 15 cells per field) for each condition and are representative of three independent experiments.