title: Pyruvate protects cerebellar granular cells from 6-hydroxydopamine-induced cytotoxicity by activating the Akt signaling pathway and increasing glutathione peroxidase expression.
abstract: Parkinson disease (PD) is the second-most common age-related neurodegenerative disease and is characterized by the selective destruction of dopaminergic neurons. Increasing evidence indicates that oxidative stress plays a crucial role in the pathogenesis of idiopathic PD. Anti-oxidant agents including catalase, manganese porphyrin and pyruvate confer cytoprotection to different cell cultures when challenged with 6-hydroxydopamine (6-OHDA). Herein we used rat cerebellar granular cell cultures to ascertain the plausible cellular pathways involved in pyruvate-induced cytoprotection against 0.1 mM 6-OHDA. Pyruvate provided cytoprotection in a concentration-dependent manner (2-10 mM). Consistent with its well-established anti-oxidant capacity, pyruvate (10 mM) prevented 6-OHDA-induced lipid peroxidation by blocking the rise in intracellular peroxides and maintaining the intracellular reduced glutathione (GSH) levels. Further experiments revealed that pyruvate increased Akt, but not extracellular signal-regulated kinase phosphorylation. Moreover, phosphatidylinositol 3-kinase (PI3K) inhibitors attenuated pyruvate-induced cytoprotection indicating that PI3K-mediated Akt activation is necessary for pyruvate to induce cytoprotection. On the other hand, pyruvate also up-regulated glutathione peroxidase mRNA levels, but not those of the anti-oxidant enzymes superoxide dismutase-1 and -2, catalase or the anti-apoptotic oncogenes Bcl-2 or Bcl-xL. In summary, our results strongly suggest that pyruvate, besides the anti-oxidant properties related to its structure, exerts cytoprotective actions by activating different anti-apoptotic routes that include gene regulation and Akt pathway activation.
authors.affiliation: Departamento de Ciencias Médicas, Facultad de Medicina, Universidad Castilla-La Mancha, and Servicio de Farmacia, Complejo Hospitalario Universitario de Albacete, Spain.
authors.forename: F J
authors.initials: FJ
authors.lastname: Fernandez-Gomez
authors.forename: M D
authors.initials: MD
authors.lastname: Pastor
authors.forename: E M
authors.initials: EM
authors.lastname: Garcia-Martinez
authors.forename: R
authors.initials: R
authors.lastname: Melero-Fernandez de Mera
authors.forename: M
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Gou-Fabregas
authors.forename: M
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Gomez-Lazaro
authors.forename: S
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Calvo
authors.forename: R M
authors.initials: RM
authors.lastname: Soler
authors.forename: M F
authors.initials: MF
authors.lastname: Galindo
authors.forename: J
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Jordán
mesh_terms: D000818:Animals; D000831:Animals, Newborn; D000975:Antioxidants / Q000378:metabolism / Q000494:pharmacology; D017209:Apoptosis / Q000187:drug effects / Q000502:physiology; D002478:Cells, Cultured; D002525:Cerebellar Cortex / Q000187:drug effects* / Q000378:metabolism / Q000503:physiopathology; D019610:Cytoprotection / Q000187:drug effects / Q000502:physiology; D004305:Dose-Response Relationship, Drug; D048049:Extracellular Signal-Regulated MAP Kinases / Q000187:drug effects / Q000378:metabolism; D005979:Glutathione Peroxidase / Q000187:drug effects / Q000235:genetics / Q000378:metabolism; D015227:Lipid Peroxidation / Q000187:drug effects / Q000502:physiology; D009410:Nerve Degeneration / Q000188:drug therapy* / Q000503:physiopathology / Q000517:prevention & control; D009474:Neurons / Q000187:drug effects* / Q000378:metabolism / Q000473:pathology; D018696:Neuroprotective Agents / Q000378:metabolism / Q000494:pharmacology*; D009498:Neurotoxins / Q000037:antagonists & inhibitors / Q000633:toxicity; D018384:Oxidative Stress / Q000187:drug effects / Q000502:physiology; D016627:Oxidopamine / Q000037:antagonists & inhibitors / Q000633:toxicity; D019869:Phosphatidylinositol 3-Kinases / Q000378:metabolism; D000081082:Phosphoinositide-3 Kinase Inhibitors; D051057:Proto-Oncogene Proteins c-akt / Q000187:drug effects* / Q000378:metabolism; D019289:Pyruvic Acid / Q000378:metabolism / Q000494:pharmacology*; D012333:RNA, Messenger / Q000187:drug effects / Q000378:metabolism; D051381:Rats; D015398:Signal Transduction / Q000187:drug effects / Q000502:physiology; D015854:Up-Regulation / Q000187:drug effects / Q000502:physiology
chemical_list: D000975:Antioxidants; D048049:Extracellular Signal-Regulated MAP Kinases; D005979:Glutathione Peroxidase; D018696:Neuroprotective Agents; D009498:Neurotoxins; D016627:Oxidopamine; D019869:Phosphatidylinositol 3-Kinases; D000081082:Phosphoinositide-3 Kinase Inhibitors; D051057:Proto-Oncogene Proteins c-akt; D019289:Pyruvic Acid; D012333:RNA, Messenger