The anaphylatoxin C3a is a potent inflammatory polypeptide released at sites of
complement activation. To test whether C3a might alter neuronal outcome following an
ischemic insult, we determined the effects of purified human C3a on murine primary cortical
cell cultures exposed to apoptotic or excitotoxic paradigms. C3a prevented neither serum
deprivation-induced apoptotic neuronal death, nor AMPA/kainate-mediated excitotoxicity.
However, in mixed cultures of neurons and astrocytes, C3a dose-dependently protected …