Modification of the indolamine content in neuroblastoma x glioma hybrid NG108-15 cells upon induced differentiation.

1. The neuroblastoma x glioma hybrid NG108-15 cell line has been widely studied as a neuronal model for its serotonergic, cholinergic, and peptidergic properties. 2. The catecholamine and serotonin content and that of their major metabolites have been determined by high-performance liquid chromatography with electrochemical detection (HPLC-EC) in NG108-15 cells under differentiated and undifferentiated conditions. 3. Cellular contents of L-DOPA, norepinephrine, (NE), L-epinephrine (EPI), and dopamine (DA) in differentiated cells, induced by 1 mM dibutyryl cyclic AMP (dBcAMP), are 149, 40, 129, and 124%, respectively, higher than those in undifferentiated cells. 4. 3,4-Dihydroxyphenethylacetic acid (DOPAC), the major metabolite of DA, is detectable only in differentiated cells. Similarly, DOPAC is present only in culture medium from differentiated cells, and not that of undifferentiated cells. 5. Serotonin (5-HT) is detectable only in undifferentiated cells; and the level of 5-hydroxyindoleacetic acid (5-HIAA), the major metabolite of 5-HT, is also 12.7% higher is undifferentiated cells. 6. Comparative analyses of differentiated and undifferentiated cells in monolayer cultures and undifferentiated cells cultured in the presence of 1 mM dBcAMP under suspension conditions suggest that change in the indolamine content is due to cellular changes upon morphological differentiation. 7. The clonal NG108-15 cell line is also catecholaminergic, in addition to cholinergic and serotonergic; and a shift of neurotransmitter pattern from serotonin to dopamine production occurs during morphological differentiation.