Premature cognitive decline in a mouse model of tuberous sclerosis.

Little is known about the influence of (impaired) neurodevelopment on cognitive aging. We here used a mouse model for tuberous sclerosis (TS) carrying a heterozygous deletion of the Tsc2 gene. Loss of Tsc2 function leads to mTOR hyperactivity in mice and patients.

Efficacy of Local Anesthetics in Detachment of Normal 3T3 Mouse Fibroblasts and Prostate Cancer AT-2 Cells from Substrata, in Maintenance of Viable Cells in a Non-Adherent State, and in Preservation of Cell Surface Markers Detected with FlowSight Image Cytometry.

The local anesthetics procaine, lidocaine and tetracaine permit the reversible detachment of viable cells and their passaging or preservation in a non-adherent state in the absence of proteolytic enzymes. The effects of these anesthetics, dissolved in various media, on cell viability, cell detachment from substrata and preservation of cells in a non-adherent state, were compared using the AT-2 line of rat prostate carcinoma cells of moderate malignancy and the 3T3 mouse fibroblast cell line. It was found that all three local anesthetics can induce cell rounding followed by detachment of over 95% of viable cells in both lines in Ca2+/Mg(2+)-free PBS.