Role of HO-1 in the Arsenite-Induced Neurotoxicity in Primary Cultured Cortical Neurons

In the present study, the role of heme oxygenase (HO)-1 in sodium arsenite (arsenite)-induced neurotoxicity was investigated using primary cultured cortical neurons. Incubation with arsenite was found to cause cell death of primary cultured cortical neurons in concentration- and time-dependent manners. Furthermore, arsenite induced caspase 3 activation and decreased procaspase 12 levels, indicating that apoptosis is involved in the arsenite-induced neurotoxicity. The oxidative mechanism underlying arsenite-induced neurotoxicity was investigated. Western blot assay showed that arsenite significantly increased HO-1 levels, a redox-regulated protein. Co-incubation with glutathione (10 mM) attenuated arsenite-induced HO-1 elevation and caspase 3 activation, suggesting that oxidative stress is involved in the arsenite-induced neurotoxicity. The neurotoxic effects of inorganic arsenics were compared; arsenite was more potent than arsenate in inducing HO-1 expression and caspase 3 activation. Moreover, the cell viabilities of arsenite and arsenate were 60?±?2 and 99?±?2 % of control, respectively. HO-1 siRNA transfection was employed to prevent arsenite-induced HO-1 elevation. At the same time, arsenite-induced caspase 3 activation and neuronal death were attenuated in the HO-1 siRNA-transfected cells. Taken together, HO-1 appears to be neuroprotective in the arsenite-induced neurotoxicity in primary cultured cortical neurons. In addition to antioxidants, HO-1 elevation may be a neuroprotective strategy for arsenite-induced neurotoxicity.     

蓝莓提取物对H2O2诱导的体外培养的大鼠海马神经元氧化损伤的保护作用

目的：探讨蓝莓提取物对过氧化氢致大鼠海马神经元氧化应激损伤的减缓作用。方法：将培养7d的海马神经细胞分为8组：①过氧化氢组（H2O2）：培养液中加入50μmol/L的H2O2,作用24h。②不同剂量蓝莓提取物预处理组（BE＋H2O2）：在加入H2O2前24h,分别加入0.01、0.1、1.0、10.0、20.0和40.0μg/mlBE。③空白对照组（Control）：处理步骤同上组,但每次处理物质均为等量的培养液。通过测定细胞存活率和上清液中乳酸脱氢酶（LDH）的活性确定减轻海马神经元损伤的蓝莓提取物的适宜浓度。并检测细胞内丙二醛（MDA）含量、超氧化物歧化酶（SOD）活性以及细胞凋亡率的变化。结果：①蓝莓提取物组（0.1,1.0和10.0μg/mlBE）LDH活性显著低于H2O2组,细胞存活率由H2O2组的57.44%分别上升至78.42%、87.71%、72.40%;1μg/ml蓝莓提取物组对H2O2诱导的海马神经细胞氧化应激损伤的保护作用最好。②1μg/ml蓝莓提取物组海马神经细胞培养上清液中MDA含量及细胞凋亡率显著低于H2O2组,SOD活性显著高于H2O2组。结论：适宜剂量的蓝莓提取物对氧化应激损伤的海马神经元有一定的保护作用,其机制可能与抑制海马神经元凋亡、增强神经细胞的抗氧化功能有关。     

何首乌苷通过激活BDNF/TrkB信号通路拮抗H2O2诱导的大鼠海马神经元氧化损伤

探讨脑源性神经营养因子/酪氨酸激酶受体B(BDNF/TrkB)信号通路激活参与何首乌苷(PMG)对过氧化氢(H2O2)诱导神经元氧化应激损伤的保护作用。实验采用神经元原代培养,建立大鼠乳鼠海马神经元氧化应激损伤模型。实验结果显示高浓度的H2O2与MTT测定的细胞存活率降低相关,选择细胞存活率在40%~50%之间的200μmol/LH2O2浓度作为氧化应激损伤的实验浓度。与模型组相比,PMG预处理组(200μmol/L)可抑制H2O2诱导的神经元损伤(P<0.001)。TUNEL和β-微管蛋白III荧光染色显示PMG保护H2O2诱导的神经细胞损伤,明显降低细胞凋亡率(P<0.001),细胞骨架形态恢复正常。与PMG+H2O2预处理组相比较,当加入BDNF/TrkB信号转导通路阻断剂K252a后,PMG+H2O2+K252a组神经元细胞存活率大幅度下降(P<0.01),细胞骨架形态呈损伤状态。同时,我们发现PMG预处理恢复H2O2诱导的BDNF和P-TrkB的低表达水平,并且用K252a阻断BDNF/TrkB信号传导抑制了PMG对BDNF和P-TrkB表达水平的影响(P<0.01)。综上所述,何首乌苷可能通过激活BDNF/TrkB信号转导通路及维护神经元骨架的完整,实现对大鼠海马神经元氧化应激损伤的拮抗作用。     

Expression and localization of mitochondrial ferritin mRNA in Alzheimer's disease cerebral cortex

Mitochondrial ferritin (MtF) has been identified as a novel ferritin encoded by an intron-lacking gene with specific mitochondrial localization located on chromosome 5q23.1. MtF has been associated with neurodegenerative disorders such as Friedreich ataxia and restless leg syndrome. However, little information is available about MtF in Alzheimer's disease (AD). In this study, therefore, we investigated the expression and localization of MtF messenger RNA (mRNA) in the cerebral cortex of AD and control cases using real-time polymerase chain reaction (PCR) as well as in situ hybridization histochemistry. We also examined protein expression using western-blot assay. In addition, we used in vitro methods to further explore the effect of oxidative stress and β-amyloid peptide (Aβ) on MtF expression. To do this we examined MtF mRNA and protein expression changes in the human neuroblastoma cell line, IMR-32, after treatment with Aβ, H2O2, or both. The neuroprotective effect of MtF on oxidative stress induced by H(2)O(2) was measured by MTT assay. The in situ hybridization studies revealed that MtF mRNA was detected mainly in neurons to a lesser degree in glial cells in the cerebral cortex. The staining intensity and the number of positive cells were increased in the cerebral cortex of AD patients. Real-time PCR and western-blot confirmed that MtF expression levels in the cerebral cortex were significantly higher in AD cases than that in control cases at both the mRNA and the protein level. Cell culture experiments demonstrated that the expression of both MtF mRNA and protein were increased by treatment with H2O2 or a combination of Aβ and H2O2, but not with Aβ alone. Finally, MtF expression showed a significant neuroprotective effect against H2O2-induced oxidative stress (p<0.05). The present study suggests that MtF is involved in the pathology of AD and may play a neuroprotective role against oxidative stress.     

Protection by exogenous pyruvate through a mechanism related to monocarboxylate transporters against cell death induced by hydrogen peroxide in cultured rat cortical neurons

In cortical neurons cultured for 3 or 9 days in vitro (DIV), exposure to hydrogen peroxide (H(2)O(2)) led to a marked decrease in cell viability in a concentration-dependent manner at a concentration range of 10 microm to 1 mm irrespective of the duration between 6 and 24 h. However, H(2)O(2) was more potent in decreasing cellular viability in cortical neurons cultured for 9 DIV than in those for 3 DIV. Pyruvate was effective in preventing the neuronal cell death at 1 mm even when added 1-3 h after the addition of H(2)O(2). Semi-quantitative RT-PCR and western blotting analyses revealed significantly higher expression of both mRNA and protein for a particular monocarboxylate transporter (MCT) in neurons cultured for 9 DIV than in those for 3 DIV. A specific inhibitor of MCT significantly attenuated the neuroprotection by pyruvate in neurons cultured for 9 DIV, without markedly affecting that in neurons cultured for 3 DIV. These results suggest that vulnerability to H(2)O(2) may at least in part involve expression of particular MCT isoforms responsible for the bi-directional transport of pyruvate across cell surfaces in cultured rat cortical neurons.     

Amino-Nogo-A antagonizes reactive oxygen species generation and protects immature primary cortical neurons from oxidative toxicity

Nogo-A is originally identified as an inhibitor of axon regeneration from the CNS myelin. Nogo-A is mainly expressed by oligodendrocytes, and also by some neuronal subpopulations, particularly in the developing nervous system. Although extensive studies have uncovered regulatory roles of Nogo-A in neurite outgrowth inhibition, precursor migration, neuronal homeostasis, plasticity and neurodegeneration, its cell-autonomous functions in neurons are largely uncharacterized. Here, we show that HIV-1 trans-activating-mediated amino-Nogo-A protein transduction into cultured primary cortical neurons achieves an almost complete neuroprotection against oxidative stress induced by exogenous hydrogen peroxide (H(2)O(2)). Endogenously expressed neuronal Nogo-A is significantly downregulated upon H(2)O(2) treatment. Furthermore, knockdown of Nogo-A results in more susceptibility to acute oxidative insults and markedly increases neuronal death. Interacting with peroxiredoxin 2 (Prdx2), amino-Nogo-A reduces reactive oxygen species (ROS) generation and extracellular signal-regulated kinase phosphorylation to exert neuroprotective effects. Structure-function mapping experiments reveal that, out of NiG-Δ20, a novel region comprising residues 290-562 of amino-Nogo-A is indispensable for preventing oxidative neuronal death. Moreover, mutagenesis analysis confirms that cysteine residues 424, 464 and 559 are involved in the inhibition of ROS generation and neuroprotective role of amino-Nogo-A. Our data suggest that neuronal Nogo-A might play a cell-autonomous role in improving neuronal survival against oxidative insult through interacting with Prdx2 and scavenging of ROS.     

Severity of oxidative stress generates different mechanisms of endothelial cell death

The role of reactive oxygen species (ROS) in the pathogenesis of vascular diseases is well established, but few data exist on the mechanisms by which ROS induce endothelial cell (EC) death. We examined the conditions and the mechanisms by which oxidative stress induces EC death, using cultured confluent bovine aortic ECs exposed for 30 min to different concentrations of hydroxyl radicals (HO*) generated by hydrogen peroxide (H(2)O(2)) in the presence of 100 microM ferrous sulfate (FeSO(4)). Cell viability assays, Hoechst DNA staining, TUNEL (TDT-mediated dUTP-biotin nick end-labeling) analysis, agarose gel electrophoresis and annexin V assay were used to determine the effect of HO* on the viability of ECs, and to distinguish between apoptosis and necrosis. The results showed that at concentrations of up to 0.1 mM H(2)O(2)/FeSO(4), the large majority of cells are viable, except for approximately 12.5% death, which occurs by apoptosis. At a concentration of 0.2 mM H(2)O(2), the cell viability is reduced to 66%, while EC apoptosis remained at comparable values (14%). At high oxidative stress (0.5 mM H(2)O(2)), the cell viability was drastically reduced (approximately 39%), and the prevalent form of death was necrosis; apoptosis accounted for only approximately 17%. Together, these data indicate that: (1) HO* induce EC death either by apoptosis or necrosis and (2) the mechanisms of EC death differ as a function of the concentration of HO. Thus, the same insult can cause apoptosis and/or necrosis, as a function of the intensity rather than the nature of the insult.     

Gab1 is an integrator of cell death versus cell survival signals in oxidative stress

Upon the addition of different growth factors and cytokines, the Gab1 docking protein is tyrosine phosphorylated and in turn activates different signaling pathways. On the basis of the large body of evidence concerning cross talk between the signaling pathways activated by growth factors and oxidative stress, we decided to investigate the role of Gab1 in oxidative injury. We stimulated wild-type mouse embryo fibroblasts (MEF) or MEF with a homozygous deletion of the Gab1 gene (-/- MEF) with H(2)O(2). Our results show that Gab1 is phosphorylated in a dose- and time-dependent manner after H(2)O(2) triggering. Gab1 then recruits molecules such as SHP2, phosphatidylinositol 3-kinase (PI3K), and Shc. Gab1 phosphorylation is sensitive to the Src family kinase inhibitor PP2. Furthermore, we demonstrate that Gab1 is required for H(2)O(2)-induced c-Jun N-terminal kinase (JNK) activation but not for ERK2 or p38 activation. Reconstitution of Gab1 in -/- MEF rescues JNK activation, and we find that this is dependent on the SHP2 binding site in Gab1. Cell viability assays reveal that Gab1 has a dual role in cell survival: a positive one through its interaction with PI3K and a negative one through its interaction with SHP2. This is the first report identifying Gab1 as a component in oxidative stress signaling and one that is required for JNK activation.     

γ-glutamylcysteine ethyl ester protects cerebral endothelial cells during injury and decreases blood-brain barrier permeability after experimental brain trauma

Oxidative stress is a pathway of injury that is common to almost all neurological conditions. Hence, methods to scavenge radicals have been extensively tested for neuroprotection. However, saving neurons alone may not be sufficient in treating CNS disease. In this study, we tested the cytoprotective actions of the glutathione precursor gamma-glutamylcysteine ethyl ester (GCEE) in brain endothelium. First, oxidative stress was induced in a human brain microvascular endothelial cell line by exposure to H(2)O(2). Addition of GCEE significantly reduced formation of reactive oxygen species, restored glutathione levels which were reduced in the presence of H(2)O(2), and decreased cell death during H(2)O(2)-mediated injury. Next, we asked whether GCEE can also protect brain endothelial cells against oxygen-glucose deprivation (OGD). As expected, OGD disrupted mitochondrial membrane potentials. GCEE was able to ameliorate these mitochondrial effects. Concomitantly, GCEE significantly decreased endothelial cell death after OGD. Lastly, our in vivo experiments using a mouse model of brain trauma show that post-trauma (10 min after controlled cortical impact) administration of GCEE by intraperitoneal injection results in a decrease in acute blood-brain barrier permeability. These data suggest that the beneficial effects of GCEE on brain endothelial cells and microvessels may contribute to its potential efficacy as a neuroprotective agent in traumatic brain injury.     

Over‐expression of HSP70 attenuates caspase‐dependent and caspase‐independent pathways and inhibits neuronal apoptosis

HSP70 is a member of the family of heat‐shock proteins that are known to be up‐regulated in neurons following injury and/or stress. HSP70 over‐expression has been linked to neuroprotection in multiple models, including neurodegenerative disorders. In contrast, less is known about the neuroprotective effects of HSP70 in neuronal apoptosis and with regard to modulation of programmed cell death (PCD) mechanisms in neurons. We examined the effects of HSP70 over‐expression by transfection with HSP70‐expression plasmids in primary cortical neurons and the SH‐SY5Y neuronal cell line using four independent models of apoptosis: etoposide, staurosporine, C2‐ceramide, and β‐Amyloid. In these apoptotic models, neurons transfected with the HSP70 construct showed significantly reduced induction of nuclear apoptotic markers and/or cell death. Furthermore, we demonstrated that HSP70 binds and potentially inactivates Apoptotic protease‐activating factor 1, as well as apoptosis‐inducing factor, key molecules involved in development of caspase‐dependent and caspase‐independent PCD, respectively. Markers of caspase‐dependent PCD, including active caspase‐3, caspase‐9, and cleaved PARP were attenuated in neurons over‐expressing HSP70. These data indicate that HSP70 protects against neuronal apoptosis and suggest that these effects reflect, at least in part, to inhibition of both caspase‐dependent and caspase‐independent PCD pathways.     

Caspase 3 inhibition attenuates hydrogen peroxide-induced DNA fragmentation but not cell death in neuronal PC12 cells

Exposure of neurons to H(2)O(2) results in both necrosis and apoptosis. Caspases play a pivotal role in apoptosis, but exactly how they are involved in H(2)O(2)-mediated cell death is unknown. We examined H(2)O(2)-induced toxicity in neuronal PC12 cells and the effects of inducible overexpression of the H(2)O(2)-scavenging enzyme catalase on this process. H(2)O(2) caused cell death in a time- and concentration-dependent manner. Cell death induced by H(2)O(2) was found to be mediated in part through an apoptotic pathway as H(2)O(2)-treated cells exhibited cell shrinkage, nuclear condensation and marked DNA fragmentation. H(2)O(2) also triggered activation of caspase 3. Genetic up-regulation of catalase not only significantly reduced cell death but also suppressed caspase 3 activity and DNA fragmentation. While the caspase 3 inhibitor DEVD inhibited both caspase 3 activity and DNA fragmentation induced by H(2)O(2) it did not prevent cell death. Treatment with the general caspase inhibitor ZVAD, however, resulted in complete attenuation of H(2)O(2)-mediated cellular toxicity. These results suggest that DNA fragmentation induced by H(2)O(2) is attributable to caspase 3 activation and that H(2)O(2) may be critical for signaling leading to apoptosis. However, unlike inducibly increased catalase expression and general caspase inhibition both of which protect cells from cytotoxicity, caspase 3 inhibition alone did not improve cell survival suggesting that prevention of DNA fragmentation is insufficient to prevent H(2)O(2)-mediated cell death.     

Knockdown of miR-429 Attenuates Aβ-Induced Neuronal Damage by Targeting SOX2 and BCL2 in Mouse Cortical Neurons

Accumulation of amyloid-β peptide (Aβ) and massive neuronal death due to apoptosis were the essential steps in the pathogenesis of Alzheimer’s disease (AD). MiR-429 was reported to play an important role in the pathogenesis of AD. However, the detailed function and underlying molecular mechanism of miR-429 in the pathogenesis of AD remain elusive. Cortical neurons were stimulated with 20 µM of Aβ_25?35 for 24 h to construct AD model in vitro. qRT-PCR assay was used to detect the expression of miR-429, and qRT-PCR or western blot analysis were performed to assess the levels of Sex-determining region Y-box 2 (SOX2) and B cell lymphoma-2 protein (BCL2) at mRNA or proteins levels in the AD mouse model and Aβ-induced treated cortical neurons. Luciferase reporter assay and western blot analysis were used to confirm the potential targets of miR-429. CCK-8 assay, flow cytometry analysis, and caspase3 activity assay were used to measure cell viability, cell apoptosis capacity and caspase3 activity, respectively. MiR-429 was upregulated and SOX2 and BCL2 were downregulated in the AD mouse model and Aβ-induced mouse cortical neurons. MiR-429 knockdown attenuated Aβ-induced cytotoxicity in mouse cortical neurons. SOX2 and BCL2 were direct targets of miR-429. Moreover, anti-miR-429-mediated neuroprotective effect was abated by the restoration of SOX2 or BCL2 expression. Knockdown of miR-429 might attenuate Aβ-induced cytotoxicity by targeting SOX2 and BCL2 in mouse cortical neurons, providing a novel prospect in AD therapy.     

Effects of Selenium on Calcium Signaling and Apoptosis in Rat Dorsal Root Ganglion Neurons Induced by Oxidative Stress

Ca(2+) is well known for its role as crucial second messenger in modulating many cellular physiological functions, Ca(2+) overload is detrimental to cellular function and may present as an important cause of cellular oxidative stress generation and apoptosis. The aim of this study is to investigate the effects of selenium on lipid peroxidation, reduced glutathione (GSH), glutathione peroxidase (GSH-Px), cytosolic Ca(2+) release, cell viability (MTT) and apoptosis values in dorsal root ganglion (DRG) sensory neurons of rats. DRG cells were divided into four groups namely control, H(2)O(2) (as a model substance used as a paradigm for oxidative stress), selenium, selenium + H(2)O(2). Moderate doses and times of H(2)O(2) and selenium were determined by MTT test. Cells were preterated 200 nM selenium for 30 h before incubatation with 1 μM H(2)O(2) for 2 h. Lipid peroxidation levels were lower in the control, selenium, selenium + H(2)O(2) groups than in the H(2)O(2) group. GSH-Px activities were higher in the selenium groups than in the H(2)O(2) group. GSH levels were higher in the control, selenium, selenium + H(2)O(2) groups than in the H(2)O(2) group. Cytosolic Ca(2+) release was higher in the H(2)O(2) group than in the control, selenium, selenium + H(2)O(2) groups. Cytosolic Ca(2+) release was lower in the selenium + H(2)O(2) group than in the H(2)O(2). In conclusion, the present study demonstrates that selenium induced protective effects on oxidative stress, [Ca(2+)](c) release and apoptosis in DRG cells. Since selenium deficiency is a common feature of oxidative stress-induced neurological diseases of sensory neurons, our findings are relevant to the etiology of pathology in oxidative stress-induced neurological diseases of the DRG neurons.     

Overexpression of glutathione peroxidase increases the resistance of neuronal cells to Abeta-mediated neurotoxicity

Senile plaques are neuropathological manifestations in Alzheimer's disease (AD) and are composed mainly of extracellular deposits of amyloid beta-peptide (Abeta). Various data suggest that the accumulation of Abeta may contribute to neuronal degeneration and that Abeta neurotoxicity could be mediated by oxygen free radicals. Removal of free radicals by antioxidant scavengers or enzymes was found to protect neuronal cells in culture from Abeta toxicity. However, the nature of the free radicals involved is still unclear. In this study, we investigated whether the neuronal overexpression of glutathione peroxidase (GPx), the major hydrogen peroxide (H2O2)-de-grading enzyme in neurons, could increase their survival in a cellular model of Abeta-induced neurotoxicity. We infected pheochromocytoma (PC12) cells and rat embryonic cultured cortical neurons with an adenoviral vector encoding GPx (Ad-GPx) prior to exposure to toxic concentrations of Abeta(25-35) or (1-40). Both PC12 and cortical Ad-GPx-infected cells were significantly more resistant to Abeta-induced injury. These data strengthen the hypothesis of a role of H2O2 in the mechanism of Abeta toxicity and highlight the potential of Ad-GPx to reduce Abeta-induced damage to neurons. These findings may have applications in gene therapy for AD.     

Protective Effect of Insulin on Rat Cortical Neurons in Oxidative Stress and Its Dependence on Modulation of Protein Kinase B (Akt) Activity

Clinical trials of insulin and experiments on its intranasal administration to animals suggest that this hormone can be efficient in treating human neurodegenerative and some other diseases associated with brain injury. However, the mechanism of the neuroprotective effect of intranasal insulin is far from being understood. The aim of the present work was to study the protective and antioxidative effects of insulin at various concentrations on rat brain cortical neurons under oxidative stress conditions and to estimate the contribution of protein kinase B (Akt) activity modulation to insulin-induced enhancement of neuronal viability in the rat brain cortex. The protective effect of insulin was shown to be dose-dependent within the nanomolar range (1 nM < 10 nM < 100 nM and/or 1 μM). A study of the antioxidative effect of insulin revealed the efficacy of such a low concentration as 1 nM. Immunoblot analysis showed that insulin at concentrations of 100 nM and 1 μM activates Akt both in neurons and control cells at different times after their exposure to a pro-oxidant agent. LY294002, a specific PI3K/Akt signaling pathway inhibitor, was shown to significantly reduce the protective and antioxidative effects of insulin. Insulin-induced upregulation both of Akt activity and antiapoptotic protein Bcl-2 appears to play an important role in the neuroprotective effect of insulin.     

Street heroin induces mitochondrial dysfunction and apoptosis in rat cortical neurons

Cortical function has been suggested to be highly compromised by repeated heroin self-administration. We have previously shown that street heroin induces apoptosis in neuronal-like PC12 cells. Thus, we analysed the apoptotic pathways involved in street heroin neurotoxicity using primary cultures of rat cortical neurons. Our street heroin sample was shown to be mainly composed by heroin, 6-monoacetylmorphine and morphine. Exposure of cortical neurons to street heroin induced a slight decrease in metabolic viability, without loss of neuronal integrity. Early activation of caspases involved in the mitochondrial apoptotic pathway was observed, culminating in caspase 3 activation, Poly-ADP Ribose Polymerase (PARP) cleavage and DNA fragmentation. Apoptotic morphology was completely prevented by the non-selective caspase inhibitor z-VAD-fmk, indicating an important role for caspases in neurodegeneration induced by street heroin. Ionotropic glutamate receptors, opioid receptors and oxidative stress were not involved in caspase 3 activation. Interestingly, street heroin cytotoxicity was shown to be independent of a functional mitochondrial respiratory chain, as determined using NT-2 rho(0) cells. Nonetheless, in street heroin-treated cortical neurons, cytochrome c was released, accompanied by a decrease in mitochondrial potential and Bcl-2/Bax. Pure heroin hydrochloride similarly decreased metabolic viability but only slightly activated caspase 3. Altogether, our data suggest an important role for mitochondria in mediating street heroin neurotoxic effects.     

Chromaffin cell death induced by 6-hydroxydopamine is independent of mitochondrial swelling and caspase activation

Our results provide evidence that 6-hydroxydopamine induced, after auto-oxidation, toxic levels of hydrogen peroxide (H2O2) that caused bovine chromaffin cell toxicity and death. 6-Hydroxydopamine (6-OHDA) treatment markedly reduced, in a dose-response fashion, chromaffin cell viability. Cell death was accompanied by cell shrinkage, nuclear condensation and DNA degradation. Under our experimental conditions, 6-OHDA auto-oxidation formed quinones and reactive oxygen species (ROS) that mainly contributed to 6-OHDA-induced cytotoxicity in bovine chromaffin cells. Accordingly, different antioxidants, including catalase, vitamin E, Mn(IIItetrakis(4-benzoic acid)porphyrin chloride (MnTBAP) or ascorbic acid, provided protection against 6-OHDA-induced toxicity. Further evidence that 6-OHDA induces oxidative stress is provided by the fact that this compound decreased total mitochondrial reduced NAD(P)H levels. Our results also suggest that mitochondrial swelling and caspase activation do not play a direct role in 6-OHDA-induced death in bovine chromaffin cells.