title: Apoptosis and impairment of neurite network by short exposure of immature rat cortical neurons to unconjugated bilirubin increase with cell differentiation and are additionally enhanced by an inflammatory stimulus.
abstract: Nerve cell injury induced by unconjugated bilirubin (UCB) has been implicated in brain damage during severe neonatal hyperbilirubinemia, although the molecular mechanisms underlying UCB neurotoxicity are still not clarified. It has been suggested recently that there is an association between hyperbilirubinemia and long-term neurologic dysfunctions. We incubated immature neurons with UCB to evaluate the short- and long-term effects of UCB on apoptotic death and on neuritic outgrowth and ramification. We also evaluated whether mature neurons, exposed previously to UCB in an early stage of differentiation, are more sensitive to apoptosis or to neuritic breakdown when treated with inflammatory agents, such as lipopolysaccharide and tumor necrosis factor-alpha. Results show that exposure of immature neurons to UCB increased apoptosis and provoked a reduction of both neurite extension and number of nodes. These injurious effects observed in immature cells treated with UCB were increasingly perpetuated along cell differentiation, as compared to neurons incubated in the absence of UCB. In addition, neurons that were exposed to UCB when immature showed an increased susceptibility to death by apoptosis, as well as an additional decrease in neurite outgrowth when incubated with an inflammatory agent afterward. This work shows, for the first time, that UCB induces neurite changes consistent with neurodevelopment abnormalities. Furthermore, pre-exposure to UCB followed by an inflammatory stimulus leads to an enhanced susceptibility to long-term apoptosis, as well as a greater neuritic breakdown. These data support the association between neonatal hyperbilirubinemia and the later development of mental illness, such as schizophrenia.
authors.affiliation: Centro de Patogénese Molecular-UBMBE, Faculdade de Farmácia, University of Lisbon, Lisbon, Portugal.
authors.forename: Ana S
authors.initials: AS
authors.lastname: Falcão
authors.forename: Rui F M
authors.initials: RF
authors.lastname: Silva
authors.forename: Sérgio
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Pancadas
authors.forename: Adelaide
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Fernandes
authors.forename: Maria A
authors.initials: MA
authors.lastname: Brito
authors.forename: Dora
authors.initials: D
authors.lastname: Brites
mesh_terms: D000704:Analysis of Variance; D000818:Animals; D017209:Apoptosis / Q000187:drug effects*; D001663:Bilirubin / Q000494:pharmacology*; D002452:Cell Count; D002454:Cell Differentiation / Q000187:drug effects*; D002478:Cells, Cultured; D002540:Cerebral Cortex / Q000166:cytology*; D004305:Dose-Response Relationship, Drug; D004357:Drug Synergism; D004622:Embryo, Mammalian; D005260:Female; D007249:Inflammation / Q000139:chemically induced; D008070:Lipopolysaccharides / Q000494:pharmacology; D009415:Nerve Net / Q000166:cytology / Q000187:drug effects*; D016501:Neurites / Q000187:drug effects*; D009474:Neurons / Q000166:cytology / Q000187:drug effects*; D011247:Pregnancy; D051381:Rats; D017208:Rats, Wistar; D013997:Time Factors
chemical_list: D008070:Lipopolysaccharides; D001663:Bilirubin