title: Role of oxidative stress in the apoptotic cell death of cultured cerebellar granule neurons.
abstract: When cultured cerebellar granule neurons (CGN) are transferred from 25 mM KCl (K25) to 5 mM KCl (K5) caspase-3 and caspase-8, but not caspase-1 or caspase-9,activities are induced and cells die apoptotically. CGN death was triggered by a [Ca(2+)](i) modification when [Ca(2+)](i) was reduced from 300 nM to 50 nM in a K5 medium. The [Ca(2+)](i) changes were followed by an increase in ROS levels. The generation of both cytosolic and mitochondrial reactive oxygen species (ROS) occurred at three different times, 10 min, 30 min and 3--4 hr but only those ROS produced after 3--4 hr are involved in the process of cell death. When CGN cultured in a K5 medium are treated with different antioxidants like scavengers of ROS (mannitol, DMSO) or antioxidant enzymes (superoxide dismutase and catalase) phosphatidylserine translocation, caspase activity, chromatin condensation and cell death is markedly diminished. The protective effect of antioxidants is not mediated through a modification in [Ca(2+)](i). Caspase activation, PS translocation and chromatin condensation were downstream of ROS production. In contrast to H(2)O(2), ROS produced by a xanthine/xanthine oxidase system in CGN cultured in K25 were able to directly induce caspase-3 activation and death that resulted sensitive to z-VAD, a caspase inhibitor. These findings indicate that a reduction in [Ca(2+)](i) triggers CGN death by inducing a generation of ROS after 3--4 hr, which could play a critical role in the initial phases of the apoptotic process including PS translocation, chromatin condensation and the activation of initiator and executor caspases.
authors.affiliation: Department of Neurosciences, Institute of Cell Physiology, National University of Mexico, Mexico City, Mexico.
authors.forename: A
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Valencia
authors.forename: J
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Morán
mesh_terms: D000818:Animals; D000975:Antioxidants / Q000494:pharmacology; D017209:Apoptosis / Q000187:drug effects / Q000502:physiology*; D002118:Calcium / Q000494:pharmacology; D053148:Caspase 3; D020169:Caspases / Q000187:drug effects / Q000378:metabolism*; D002470:Cell Survival / Q000187:drug effects / Q000502:physiology; D002478:Cells, Cultured; D002531:Cerebellum / Q000166:cytology / Q000187:drug effects / Q000378:metabolism*; D006861:Hydrogen Peroxide / Q000494:pharmacology; D016877:Oxidants / Q000494:pharmacology; D018384:Oxidative Stress / Q000187:drug effects / Q000502:physiology*; D010718:Phosphatidylserines / Q000378:metabolism; D011189:Potassium Chloride / Q000494:pharmacology; D051381:Rats; D017382:Reactive Oxygen Species / Q000378:metabolism*
chemical_list: D000975:Antioxidants; D016877:Oxidants; D010718:Phosphatidylserines; D017382:Reactive Oxygen Species; D011189:Potassium Chloride; D006861:Hydrogen Peroxide; C505410:Casp3 protein, rat; D053148:Caspase 3; D020169:Caspases; D002118:Calcium