Chronic exposure to the chemokine CCL3 enhances neuronal network activity in rat hippocampal cultures

We examined the effect of chronic CCL3 treatment on the properties of cultured rat hippocampal neurons to gain an understanding of the neuronal effects of CCL3 during neuroinflammatory disorders. Western blot assays showed that chronic exposure to CCL3 altered the level of specific neuronal and glial proteins and that CCL3 had no effect on neuronal survival. CCL3 treatment also altered intracellular Ca2+ dynamics and increased Ca2+ levels in hippocampal neurons, measured by fura-2 imaging techniques. Additionally, chronic CCL3 increased NMDA-evoked Ca2+ signals in the hippocampal neurons and increased NMDA receptor levels. These CCL3-induced neuroadaptive changes could play an important role in the CNS dysfunction associated with CNS disorders with a neuroinflammatory component.