title: Differential vulnerability of primary cultured cholinergic neurons to nitric oxide excess.
abstract: Many neuronal nitric oxide synthase (nNOS)-expressing brain neurons, including some cholinergic populations, are resistant to disease or to certain forms of excitotoxicity. Vulnerability to NO excess of forebrain (medial septal/diagonal band; MS-ACh) and brainstem (pedunculopontine/laterodorsal tegmental nuclei; BS-ACh) cholinergic neurons was compared in E16-E18 primary rat brain cultures. MS-ACh cells were approximately 300-fold more sensitive to the NO donor S-nitro-N-acetyl-D,L-penicillamine (SNAP) than were BS-ACh cells. Most (69%) MS-ACh cells contained nuclear DNA fragments by 2 h after addition of SNAP, while only 21% BS-ACh cells were TUNEL-positive after NO excess. Depletion of glutathione content did not potentiate the effect of SNAP on MS-ACh cells, but sensitized BS-ACh cells to the NO donor. Caffeic acid, a putative NF-kappa B inhibitor, enhanced the toxicity of SNAP to cholinergic neurons in both preparations. Our experiments show that cholinergic neurons in mixed primary cultures from different brain regions possess biochemical differences with respect to their vulnerability to NO excess.
authors.affiliation: Department of Pharmacology, Mayo Clinic Jacksonville, FL 32224, USA.
authors.forename: U
authors.initials: U
authors.lastname: Fass
authors.forename: K
authors.initials: K
authors.lastname: Panickar
authors.forename: D
authors.initials: D
authors.lastname: Personett
authors.forename: D
authors.initials: D
authors.lastname: Bryan
authors.forename: K
authors.initials: K
authors.lastname: Williams
authors.forename: J
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Gonzales
authors.forename: K
authors.initials: K
authors.lastname: Sugaya
authors.forename: M
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: McKinney
mesh_terms: D000109:Acetylcholine / Q000378:metabolism*; D000544:Alzheimer Disease / Q000473:pathology / Q000503:physiopathology; D000818:Animals; D001933:Brain Stem / Q000187:drug effects / Q000378:metabolism; D002470:Cell Survival / Q000187:drug effects* / Q000502:physiology*; D002478:Cells, Cultured; D002795:Choline O-Acetyltransferase / Q000378:metabolism; D002799:Cholinergic Fibers / Q000187:drug effects* / Q000378:metabolism*; D004305:Dose-Response Relationship, Drug; D004622:Embryo, Mammalian; D020287:In Situ Nick-End Labeling; D009410:Nerve Degeneration / Q000139:chemically induced / Q000473:pathology / Q000503:physiopathology; D009474:Neurons / Q000187:drug effects* / Q000378:metabolism*; D009498:Neurotoxins / Q000494:pharmacology; D009569:Nitric Oxide / Q000378:metabolism*; D020030:Nitric Oxide Donors / Q000494:pharmacology; D019001:Nitric Oxide Synthase / Q000235:genetics; D010396:Penicillamine / Q000031:analogs & derivatives / Q000494:pharmacology; D016548:Prosencephalon / Q000187:drug effects / Q000378:metabolism; D012333:RNA, Messenger / Q000378:metabolism; D051381:Rats; D017207:Rats, Sprague-Dawley
chemical_list: D009498:Neurotoxins; D020030:Nitric Oxide Donors; D012333:RNA, Messenger; C110881:S-nitro-N-acetylpenicillamine; D009569:Nitric Oxide; D019001:Nitric Oxide Synthase; D002795:Choline O-Acetyltransferase; D010396:Penicillamine; D000109:Acetylcholine