title: Brefeldin A-induced neurotoxicity in cultured spinal cord neurons.
abstract: Brefeldin A (BFA) is a fungus metabolite that is known to cause the disassembly of the Golgi complex and apoptosis in exposed cells, both of which have been suggested as playing roles in the pathogenesis of neurodegenerative diseases, particularly amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS). This study showed that BFA caused neurotoxicity and apoptotic nuclear changes in cultured spinal neurons of rat spinal cord in a dose- and time-dependent manner. The spinal motor neurons were more vulnerable to this neurotoxicity. The cultured spinal neurons showed irreversible disassembly of the Golgi apparatus as early as 1 hr after exposure to BFA. BFA induced the expression and activation of caspase-12 beginning 8 hr after exposure. The level of the cleaved form of caspase-3 had increased 12 hr after the addition of BFA. Free radical generation and loss of mitochondrial membrane potential were observed in the later stages of neurotoxicity caused by BFA. Collectively, our data suggests that BFA is an excellent agent for reproducing the pathophysiological features of ALS. This in vitro model may be useful in attempts to study the mechanisms of this neurodegenerative disease and to examine therapeutic potentials.
authors.affiliation: Department of Neurology, Hokkaido University School of Medicine, Sapporo, Hokkaido, Japan. skikuti@med.hokudai.ac.jp
authors.forename: Seiji
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Kikuchi
authors.forename: Kazuyoshi
authors.initials: K
authors.lastname: Shinpo
authors.forename: Sachiko
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Tsuji
authors.forename: Ichiro
authors.initials: I
authors.lastname: Yabe
authors.forename: Masaaki
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Niino
authors.forename: Kunio
authors.initials: K
authors.lastname: Tashiro
mesh_terms: D000818:Animals; D020126:Brefeldin A / Q000633:toxicity*; D002478:Cells, Cultured; D004305:Dose-Response Relationship, Drug; D005786:Gene Expression Regulation / Q000187:drug effects / Q000502:physiology; D009474:Neurons / Q000187:drug effects* / Q000378:metabolism / Q000473:pathology; D051381:Rats; D017207:Rats, Sprague-Dawley; D013116:Spinal Cord / Q000187:drug effects* / Q000378:metabolism / Q000473:pathology
chemical_list: D020126:Brefeldin A