title: Oxidative stress, nitric oxide, and the mechanisms of cell death in Lurcher Purkinje cells.
abstract: Oxidative stress is postulated to play a role in cell death in many neurodegenerative diseases. As a model of neonatal neuronal cell death, we have examined the role of oxidative stress in Purkinje cell death in the heterozygous Lurcher mutant (+/Lc). Lurcher is a gain of function mutation in the delta2 glutamate receptor (GluRdelta2) that turns the receptor into a leaky membrane channel, resulting in chronic depolarization of +/Lc Purkinje cells starting around the first week of postnatal development. Virtually, all +/Lc Purkinje cells die by the end of the first postnatal month. To investigate the role of oxidative stress in +/Lc Purkinje cell death, we have examined nitric oxide synthase (NOS) activity and the expression of two markers for oxidative stress, nitrotyrosine and manganese super oxide dismutase (MnSOD), in wild type and +/Lc Purkinje cells at P10, P15, and P25. The results show that NOS activity and immunolabeling for nitrotyrosine and MnSOD are increased in +/Lc Purkinje cells. To determine whether peroxynitrite formation is a prerequisite for +/Lc Purkinje cell death, +/Lc mutants were crossed with an alpha-nNOS knockout mutant (nNOSalpha(-/-)) to reduce the production of NO. Analysis of the double mutants showed that blocking alpha-nNOS expression does not rescue +/Lc Purkinje cells. However, we present evidence for sustained NOS activity and nitrotyrosine formation in the GluRdelta2(+/Lc):nNOS(-/-) double mutant Purkinje cells, which suggests that the failure to rescue GluRdelta2(+/Lc):nNOS(-/-) Purkinje cells may be explained by the induction of alternative nNOS isoforms.
authors.affiliation: Department of Biology, University of Maryland Baltimore County, Baltimore, Maryland 21250, USA.
authors.forename: Rebecca
authors.initials: R
authors.lastname: McFarland
authors.forename: Andrei
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Blokhin
authors.forename: James
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Sydnor
authors.forename: Jean
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Mariani
authors.forename: Michael W
authors.initials: MW
authors.lastname: Vogel
mesh_terms: D000818:Animals; D064026:Calbindins; D016923:Cell Death; D002531:Cerebellum / Q000502:physiology / Q000503:physiopathology; D051379:Mice; D008818:Mice, Neurologic Mutants; D009569:Nitric Oxide / Q000502:physiology*; D019001:Nitric Oxide Synthase / Q000378:metabolism; D052248:Nitric Oxide Synthase Type I / Q000378:metabolism*; D018384:Oxidative Stress / Q000502:physiology*; D011689:Purkinje Cells / Q000166:cytology / Q000201:enzymology / Q000473:pathology / Q000502:physiology*; D064030:S100 Calcium Binding Protein G / Q000378:metabolism; D013482:Superoxide Dismutase / Q000378:metabolism; D014443:Tyrosine / Q000031:analogs & derivatives / Q000378:metabolism
chemical_list: D064026:Calbindins; D064030:S100 Calcium Binding Protein G; D009569:Nitric Oxide; C002744:3-nitrotyrosine; D014443:Tyrosine; D019001:Nitric Oxide Synthase; D052248:Nitric Oxide Synthase Type I; D013482:Superoxide Dismutase