Skip to main page content
U.S. flag

An official website of the United States government

Dot gov

The .gov means it’s official.
Federal government websites often end in .gov or .mil. Before sharing sensitive information, make sure you’re on a federal government site.

Https

The site is secure.
The https:// ensures that you are connecting to the official website and that any information you provide is encrypted and transmitted securely.

Access keys NCBI Homepage MyNCBI Homepage Main Content Main Navigation
. 2001 Sep;171(1):84-97.
doi: 10.1006/exnr.2001.7747.

Attenuation of staurosporine-induced apoptosis, oxidative stress, and mitochondrial dysfunction by synthetic superoxide dismutase and catalase mimetics, in cultured cortical neurons

Affiliations

Attenuation of staurosporine-induced apoptosis, oxidative stress, and mitochondrial dysfunction by synthetic superoxide dismutase and catalase mimetics, in cultured cortical neurons

K Pong et al. Exp Neurol. 2001 Sep.

Abstract

Neuronal apoptosis induced by staurosporine (STS) involves multiple cellular and molecular events, such as the production of reactive oxygen species (ROS). In this study, we tested the efficacy of two synthetic superoxide dismutase/catalase mimetics (EUK-134 and EUK-189) on neuronal apoptosis, oxidative stress, and mitochondrial dysfunction produced by STS in primary cortical neuronal cultures. Exposure of cultures to STS for 24 h increased lactate dehydrogenase (LDH) release, the number of apoptotic cells, and decreased trypan blue exclusion. Pretreatment with 20 microM EUK-134 or 0.5 microM EUK-189 significantly attenuated STS-induced neurotoxicity, as did pretreatment with the caspase-1 inhibitor, Ac-YVAD-CHO, but not the caspase-3 inhibitor, Ac-DEVD-CHO. Posttreatment (1-3 h following STS exposure) with 20 microM EUK-134 or 0.5 microM EUK-189 significantly reduced STS-induced LDH release, in a time-dependent manner. Exposure of cultures to STS for 1 h produced an elevation of ROS, as determined by increased levels of 2,7-dichlorofluorescein (DCF). This rapid elevation of ROS was followed by an increase in lipid peroxidation, and both the increase in DCF fluorescence and in lipid peroxidation were significantly blocked by pretreatment with EUK-134. STS treatment for 3-6 h increased cytochrome c release from mitochondria into the cytosol, an effect also blocked by pretreatment with EUK-134. These results indicate that intracellular oxidative stress and mitochondrial dysfunction are critically involved in STS-induced neurotoxicity. However, there are additional cellular responses to STS, which are insensitive to treatment with radical scavengers that also contribute to its neurotoxicity.

PubMed Disclaimer

Similar articles

Cited by

MeSH terms

LinkOut - more resources