Suitability of B65 and SH-SY5Y neuroblastoma cells as models for 'in vitro' neurotoxicity testing.

Both rat B65 1 11 and human SH-SY5Y cells 121 possess significant tyrosine hydroxylase activity and are therefore good candidates for the study of catecholamine synthesis, release and uptake. Furthermore, these cell lines may be suitable model systems for the investigation of potential neurotoxins. The study of potential Parkinsonian neurotoxins, such as 1-methyl-4-phenyl1,2,3,6tetrahydropyridine [3] and nicotinamide derivatives 141, allows the examination of the action of compounds at a cellular level, which may be difficult in vivo. Additionally, an in vitro model provides data without the requirement for post mortem brain tissue. Therefore, we have investigated the ability of these cell lines to take up [3H] dopamine (DA) and [3H] noradrenaline (NA), with a view to their use when studying diseases that present with altered catecholamine homeostasis.