title: Inhibition of neutral sphingomyelinase activation and ceramide formation by glutathione in hypoxic PC12 cell death.
abstract: Reduced glutathione (GSH) and N-acetylcysteine (NAC), but not other antioxidative or reducing agents, were found to inhibit cell death, both apoptosis and necrosis, induced by hypoxia in naive and nerve growth factor-differentiated PC12 cells. The level of intracellular total GSH decreased time-dependently during hypoxia, but exogenously added GSH prevented such a decrease in GSH. Pretreatment of cells with exogenous GSH or NAC resulted in inhibition of both neutral sphingomyelinase (SMase) activation and ceramide formation during hypoxia. In the in vitro assay system, neutral SMase activity was inhibited dose-dependently by GSH and NAC. Activation of caspase-3 induced by hypoxia was also inhibited by either GSH or NAC. NAC but not GSH inhibited caspase-3 activation induced by C2-ceramide. These results suggest that GSH protects cells from hypoxic injury by direct inhibition of neutral SMase activity and ceramide formation, resulting in inhibition of caspase-3 activation, and that NAC exerts an additional inhibitory effect(s) downstream of ceramide.
authors.affiliation: Department of Neurosurgery, Gifu University School of Medicine, Tsukasamachi, Japan.
authors.forename: S
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Yoshimura
authors.forename: Y
authors.initials: Y
authors.lastname: Banno
authors.forename: S
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Nakashima
authors.forename: K
authors.initials: K
authors.lastname: Hayashi
authors.forename: H
authors.initials: H
authors.lastname: Yamakawa
authors.forename: M
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Sawada
authors.forename: N
authors.initials: N
authors.lastname: Sakai
authors.forename: Y
authors.initials: Y
authors.lastname: Nozawa
mesh_terms: D000111:Acetylcysteine / Q000494:pharmacology; D000818:Animals; D000975:Antioxidants / Q000378:metabolism; D053148:Caspase 3; D020169:Caspases / Q000378:metabolism; D016923:Cell Death / Q000187:drug effects; D002454:Cell Differentiation / Q000502:physiology; D015687:Cell Hypoxia / Q000187:drug effects; D002518:Ceramides / Q000096:biosynthesis*; D004789:Enzyme Activation / Q000502:physiology; D016166:Free Radical Scavengers / Q000494:pharmacology; D005978:Glutathione / Q000378:metabolism* / Q000494:pharmacology; D007770:L-Lactate Dehydrogenase / Q000378:metabolism; D009474:Neurons / Q000166:cytology* / Q000201:enzymology; D016716:PC12 Cells; D051381:Rats; D015398:Signal Transduction / Q000502:physiology; D013108:Sphingomyelin Phosphodiesterase / Q000037:antagonists & inhibitors / Q000378:metabolism*; D013110:Sphingosine / Q000031:analogs & derivatives* / Q000494:pharmacology
chemical_list: D000975:Antioxidants; D002518:Ceramides; D016166:Free Radical Scavengers; C064769:N-acetylsphingosine; D007770:L-Lactate Dehydrogenase; D013108:Sphingomyelin Phosphodiesterase; C505410:Casp3 protein, rat; D053148:Caspase 3; D020169:Caspases; D005978:Glutathione; D013110:Sphingosine; D000111:Acetylcysteine