title: Paraxanthine, the primary metabolite of caffeine, provides protection against dopaminergic cell death via stimulation of ryanodine receptor channels.
abstract: Epidemiological evidence suggests that caffeine or its metabolites reduce the risk of developing Parkinson's disease, possibly by protecting dopaminergic neurons, but the underlying mechanism is not clearly understood. Here, we show that the primary metabolite of caffeine, paraxanthine (PX; 1, 7-dimethylxanthine), was strongly protective against neurodegeneration and loss of synaptic function in a culture system of selective dopaminergic cell death. In contrast, caffeine itself afforded only marginal protection. The survival effect of PX was highly specific to dopaminergic neurons and independent of glial cell line-derived neurotrophic factor (GDNF). Nevertheless, PX had the potential to rescue dopaminergic neurons that had matured initially with and were then deprived of GDNF. The protective effect of PX was not mediated by blockade of adenosine receptors or by elevation of intracellular cAMP levels, two pharmacological effects typical of methylxanthine derivatives. Instead, it was attributable to a moderate increase in free cytosolic calcium via the activation of reticulum endoplasmic ryanodine receptor (RyR) channels. Consistent with these observations, PX and also ryanodine, the preferential agonist of RyRs, were protective in an unrelated paradigm of mitochondrial toxin-induced dopaminergic cell death. In conclusion, our data suggest that PX has a neuroprotective potential for diseased dopaminergic neurons.
authors.affiliation: Unité Mixte de Recherche, Institut National de la Santé et de la Recherche Médicale/Université Pierre et Marie Curie-Paris-6, Bât. Pharmacie, Hôpital de la Salpêtrière, 47, bd de l'hôpital, 75013 Paris, France.
authors.forename: Serge
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Guerreiro
authors.forename: Damien
authors.initials: D
authors.lastname: Toulorge
authors.forename: Etienne
authors.initials: E
authors.lastname: Hirsch
authors.forename: Marc
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Marien
authors.forename: Pierre
authors.initials: P
authors.lastname: Sokoloff
authors.forename: Patrick P
authors.initials: PP
authors.lastname: Michel
mesh_terms: D000818:Animals; D017209:Apoptosis / Q000502:physiology; D002110:Caffeine / Q000378:metabolism*; D016923:Cell Death / Q000187:drug effects; D002470:Cell Survival / Q000187:drug effects; D002478:Cells, Cultured; D004298:Dopamine / Q000502:physiology; D004622:Embryo, Mammalian / Q000166:cytology; D019084:Fluorescent Antibody Technique, Indirect; D006863:Hydrogen-Ion Concentration; D008636:Mesencephalon / Q000166:cytology; D009474:Neurons / Q000166:cytology / Q000187:drug effects / Q000502:physiology; D018696:Neuroprotective Agents / Q000819:agonists / Q000138:chemical synthesis / Q000737:chemistry / Q000302:isolation & purification / Q000494:pharmacology*; D051381:Rats; D017208:Rats, Wistar; D012433:Ryanodine / Q000494:pharmacology; D019837:Ryanodine Receptor Calcium Release Channel / Q000378:metabolism*; D012995:Solubility; D013806:Theophylline / Q000819:agonists / Q000138:chemical synthesis / Q000737:chemistry / Q000302:isolation & purification / Q000494:pharmacology*
chemical_list: D018696:Neuroprotective Agents; D019837:Ryanodine Receptor Calcium Release Channel; D012433:Ryanodine; D002110:Caffeine; D013806:Theophylline; C021183:1,7-dimethylxanthine; D004298:Dopamine