Effect of ammonia on calcium homeostasis in primary astrocyte cultures

Calcium influx, accumulation and efflux were studied in primary cultures of rat astrocytes treated with ammonium chloride. Treatment of the cells for 3 days with 10 mM NH₄Cl resulted in a 35% reduction in ⁴⁵Ca influx. The decrease in calcium influx was dose-dependent between 2 and 10 mM NH₄Cl. Short-term (30 min) exposure to ammonia had no effect on calcium influx. Calcium accumulation, as measured by 20-min exposure to ⁴⁵Ca, decreased after treating cultures with 10 mM NH₄Cl for one or 3 days; a greater effect was observed after the 3-day treatment. Studies with lanthanum, an inhibitor of calcium transport, indicated that the effect of ammonia was not due to non-specific leakage of calcium. Calcium efflux was not affected by exposure of the cultures to ammonium chloride. Purinergic-evoked calcium influx and mobilization was not altered by ammonia. While the mechanism(s) of calcium homeostasis affected by long-term hyperammonemia remain to be defined, these results suggest that reduced astrocytic calcium may be related to the pathogenesis of ammonia-related disorders such as hepatic encephalography.