title: Glutamate induces oxidative stress and apoptosis in cerebral vascular endothelial cells: contributions of HO-1 and HO-2 to cytoprotection.
abstract: In cerebral circulation, epileptic seizures associated with excessive release of the excitatory neurotransmitter glutamate cause endothelial injury. Heme oxygenase (HO), which metabolizes heme to a vasodilator, carbon monoxide (CO), and antioxidants, biliverdin/bilirubin, is highly expressed in cerebral microvessels as a constitutive isoform, HO-2, whereas the inducible form, HO-1, is not detectable. Using cerebral vascular endothelial cells from newborn pigs and HO-2-knockout mice, we addressed the hypotheses that 1) glutamate induces oxidative stress-related endothelial death by apoptosis, and 2) HO-1 and HO-2 are protective against glutamate cytotoxicity. In cerebral endothelial cells, glutamate (0.1-2.0 mM) increased formation of reactive oxygen species, including superoxide radicals, and induced major keystone events of apoptosis, such as NF-kappaB nuclear translocation, caspase-3 activation, DNA fragmentation, and cell detachment. Glutamate-induced apoptosis was greatly exacerbated in HO-2 gene-deleted murine cerebrovascular endothelial cells and in porcine cells with pharmacologically inhibited HO-2 activity. Glutamate toxicity was prevented by superoxide dismutase, suggesting apoptotic changes are oxidative stress related. When HO-1 was pharmacologically upregulated by cobalt protoporphyrin, apoptotic effects of glutamate in cerebral endothelial cells were completely prevented. Glutamate-induced reactive oxygen species production and apoptosis were blocked by a CO-releasing compound, CORM-A1 (50 microM), and by bilirubin (1 microM), consistent with the antioxidant and cytoprotective roles of the end products of HO activity. We conclude that both HO-1 and HO-2 have anti-apoptotic effects against oxidative stress-related glutamate toxicity in cerebral vascular endothelium. Although HO-1, when induced, provides powerful protection, HO-2 is an essential endogenous anti-apoptotic factor against glutamate toxicity in the cerebral vascular endothelium.
authors.affiliation: Department of Physiology, University of Tennessee Health Science Center, 894 Union Ave., Memphis, TN 38163, USA. hparf@physio1.utmem.edu
authors.forename: Helena
authors.initials: H
authors.lastname: Parfenova
authors.forename: Shyamali
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Basuroy
authors.forename: Sujoy
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Bhattacharya
authors.forename: Dilyara
authors.initials: D
authors.lastname: Tcheranova
authors.forename: Yan
authors.initials: Y
authors.lastname: Qu
authors.forename: Raymond F
authors.initials: RF
authors.lastname: Regan
authors.forename: Charles W
authors.initials: CW
authors.lastname: Leffler
mesh_terms: D000818:Animals; D017209:Apoptosis / Q000187:drug effects / Q000502:physiology; D001921:Brain / Q000098:blood supply* / Q000166:cytology / Q000502:physiology; D002478:Cells, Cultured; D019610:Cytoprotection / Q000187:drug effects / Q000502:physiology*; D004305:Dose-Response Relationship, Drug; D042783:Endothelial Cells / Q000187:drug effects / Q000502:physiology*; D018698:Glutamic Acid / Q000008:administration & dosage*; D006419:Heme Oxygenase (Decyclizing) / Q000378:metabolism*; D051547:Heme Oxygenase-1 / Q000378:metabolism*; D051379:Mice; D008810:Mice, Inbred C57BL; D018345:Mice, Knockout; D018384:Oxidative Stress / Q000187:drug effects / Q000502:physiology*; D013552:Swine
chemical_list: D018698:Glutamic Acid; D006419:Heme Oxygenase (Decyclizing); D051547:Heme Oxygenase-1; C105245:heme oxygenase-2