Fig. 1.

E2/TX protects astrocytes from Mn toxicity in astroglial cultures. (a) Both E2 receptor subtypes, ER-α and ER-β, are expressed in astrocytic cultures. (b) Mn induced astrocytic cytotoxicity occurs in a time- and concentration-dependent manner. Cell viability was assessed by MTT assay as described in the Methods section. (c) E2/TX protects astrocytes from Mn toxicity. Astrocytes were pre-treated for 24 h with E2 (5 and 10 nM) or with TX (0.5 and 1 μM) prior to the addition of Mn (500 μM), followed by the MTT assay. (^###p < 0.001 vs. control; **p < 0.01, ***p < 0.001 vs. the Mn treatment; Tukey's test following anova). Data are expressed as the mean ± SEM (n = 5–8). Experiments were performed in three independent sets of cultures.