title: The effect of PKC activation on the survival of rat retinal ganglion cells in culture.
abstract: Natural cell death is a degenerative phenomenon occurring during the development of the nervous system. Approximately half the neurons initially generated during this period die. The role of trophic molecules produced by target and afferent neurons as well as by glial cells controlling this regressive event has been extensively demonstrated. The aim of this work was to study the role of activated protein kinase C (PKC), an enzyme involved in apoptosis regulation, on the survival of retinal ganglion cells kept "in vitro" for 48 h. For this purpose, we used the phorbol 12-myristate 13-acetate (PMA), a tumor promoter agent that activates PKC. Our results showed that PMA increases the survival of ganglion cells. The effect was dose-dependent and PMA concentrations of 10 or 100 ng/ml produced the maximal effect (a two-fold increase on ganglion cells survival compared with 48 h control). This effect was totally abolished by 1.25 microM chelerythrine chloride (an inhibitor of PKC) and 30 microM genistein (an inhibitor of tyrosine kinase enzymes). Otherwise, PMA was effective only when it was chronically present in the cultures. On the other hand, treatment with 20 microM 5-fluoro-2'-deoxyuridine, an inhibitor of cell proliferation, or 25 microM BAPTA-AM, an intracellular calcium chelator, did not block PMA effect. Our results suggest that the survival of retinal ganglion cells "in vitro" may be mediated by a mechanism that involves PKC activation.
authors.affiliation: Departamento de Neurobiologia, Instituto de Biologia, Centro de Estudos Gerais, Universidade Federal Fluminense, Caixa Postal #100180, Niterói, Brazil.
authors.forename: A A
authors.initials: AA
authors.lastname: dos Santos
authors.forename: E G
authors.initials: EG
authors.lastname: de Araujo
mesh_terms: D000470:Alkaloids; D000818:Animals; D000831:Animals, Newborn; D053119:Benzophenanthridines; D002455:Cell Division / Q000187:drug effects; D002470:Cell Survival / Q000187:drug effects / Q000502:physiology; D002478:Cells, Cultured; D002614:Chelating Agents / Q000494:pharmacology; D004305:Dose-Response Relationship, Drug; D004533:Egtazic Acid / Q000031:analogs & derivatives / Q000494:pharmacology; D004789:Enzyme Activation / Q000187:drug effects; D004791:Enzyme Inhibitors / Q000494:pharmacology; D005467:Floxuridine / Q000494:pharmacology; D019833:Genistein / Q000494:pharmacology; D009457:Neuroglia / Q000166:cytology / Q000187:drug effects; D010617:Phenanthridines / Q000494:pharmacology; D011493:Protein Kinase C / Q000037:antagonists & inhibitors / Q000378:metabolism*; D011505:Protein-Tyrosine Kinases / Q000037:antagonists & inhibitors; D051381:Rats; D011919:Rats, Inbred Strains; D012165:Retinal Ganglion Cells / Q000166:cytology / Q000201:enzymology*; D013477:Superior Colliculi; D013755:Tetradecanoylphorbol Acetate / Q000494:pharmacology
chemical_list: D000470:Alkaloids; D053119:Benzophenanthridines; D002614:Chelating Agents; D004791:Enzyme Inhibitors; D010617:Phenanthridines; D005467:Floxuridine; C070379:1,2-bis(2-aminophenoxy)ethane N,N,N',N'-tetraacetic acid acetoxymethyl ester; D004533:Egtazic Acid; D019833:Genistein; C016299:chelerythrine; D011505:Protein-Tyrosine Kinases; D011493:Protein Kinase C; D013755:Tetradecanoylphorbol Acetate