title: BCL-2 blocks glutamate toxicity in neural cell lines.
abstract: Glutamate has been shown, at high concentrations (5-10 mM), to lead to death in cells of the pheochromocytoma cell line PC12. We report that similar concentrations of glutamate also kill immortalized central neural cell lines, and that the expression of the proto-oncogene bcl-2 in these cell lines blocks glutamate neurotoxicity. Potassium chloride (25 mM) also protects a cerebellar neuronal cell line, but not PC12 cells, from glutamate toxicity.
authors.affiliation: Department of Neurology, UCLA School of Medicine 90024-1769.
authors.forename: L T
authors.initials: LT
authors.lastname: Zhong
authors.forename: D J
authors.initials: DJ
authors.lastname: Kane
authors.forename: D E
authors.initials: DE
authors.lastname: Bredesen
mesh_terms: D000818:Animals; D001932:Brain Neoplasms; D016466:CHO Cells; D002461:Cell Line, Transformed; D002470:Cell Survival / Q000187:drug effects*; D002531:Cerebellum; D006224:Cricetinae; D018691:Excitatory Amino Acid Antagonists; D005971:Glutamates / Q000633:toxicity*; D018698:Glutamic Acid; D006801:Humans; D051379:Mice; D009474:Neurons / Q000166:cytology / Q000187:drug effects*; D009498:Neurotoxins / Q000037:antagonists & inhibitors / Q000633:toxicity*; D016716:PC12 Cells; D011189:Potassium Chloride / Q000494:pharmacology; D011505:Protein-Tyrosine Kinases / Q000378:metabolism*; D000090063:Proto-Oncogene Mas; D011518:Proto-Oncogene Proteins / Q000096:biosynthesis / Q000378:metabolism*; D019253:Proto-Oncogene Proteins c-bcl-2; D011519:Proto-Oncogenes; D051381:Rats; D014162:Transfection
chemical_list: D018691:Excitatory Amino Acid Antagonists; D005971:Glutamates; C000715470:MAS1 protein, human; D009498:Neurotoxins; D000090063:Proto-Oncogene Mas; D011518:Proto-Oncogene Proteins; D019253:Proto-Oncogene Proteins c-bcl-2; D018698:Glutamic Acid; D011189:Potassium Chloride; D011505:Protein-Tyrosine Kinases