title: N-acetylcysteine counteracts oxidative stress and prevents hCG-induced apoptosis in rat Leydig cells through down regulation of caspase-8 and JNK.
abstract: We have earlier reported that following persistent stimulation with hCG, oxidative stress-induced apoptosis in rat Leydig cells was mainly achieved through the extrinsic pathway. In the present study, the role of N-acetylcysteine (NAC) in counteracting the oxidative stress and the mechanisms of inhibition of apoptosis under such conditions were investigated. NAC (1 mM) intervention with repeated hCG stimulation (50 ng/ml, four times, each with 30 min challenge) prevented the decline in Leydig cell viability and the rise in lipid peroxidation and reactive oxygen species. Simultaneously, the activities of the enzymes glutathione-S-transferase, catalase, superoxide dismutase and the intracellular glutathione and antioxidant capacity of the treated cells improved significantly. Apoptotic markers Fas, FasL, and caspase-8, up-regulated following repeated hCG exposure, were significantly down-regulated following NAC co-incubation. While Bcl-2 expression was fully restored, Bax and caspase-9 remained unchanged. NAC treatment induced down-regulation of upstream JNK/pJNK and down-stream caspase-3 in the target cells. Taken together, the above findings indicate that NAC counteracted the oxidative stress in Leydig cells induced as a result of repeated hCG stimulation, and inhibited apoptosis by mainly regulating the extrinsic and JNK pathways of metazoan apoptosis.
authors.affiliation: Department of Reproductive Biomedicine, National Institute of Health & Family Welfare, Munirka, New Delhi, India.
authors.forename: Archana
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Aggarwal
authors.forename: Man Mohan
authors.initials: MM
authors.lastname: Misro
authors.forename: Ankur
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Maheshwari
authors.forename: Neeta
authors.initials: N
authors.lastname: Sehgal
authors.forename: Deoki
authors.initials: D
authors.lastname: Nandan
mesh_terms: D000111:Acetylcysteine / Q000494:pharmacology*; D000704:Analysis of Variance; D000818:Animals; D017209:Apoptosis / Q000187:drug effects*; D053148:Caspase 3 / Q000378:metabolism; D053181:Caspase 8 / Q000235:genetics / Q000378:metabolism*; D002374:Catalase / Q000235:genetics / Q000378:metabolism; D002470:Cell Survival / Q000187:drug effects; D006063:Chorionic Gonadotropin / Q000494:pharmacology; D015536:Down-Regulation / Q000187:drug effects*; D015870:Gene Expression; D005982:Glutathione Transferase / Q000235:genetics / Q000378:metabolism; D020287:In Situ Nick-End Labeling; D048031:JNK Mitogen-Activated Protein Kinases / Q000378:metabolism*; D007985:Leydig Cells / Q000187:drug effects* / Q000378:metabolism; D015227:Lipid Peroxidation; D008297:Male; D018384:Oxidative Stress / Q000187:drug effects*; D011065:Poly(ADP-ribose) Polymerases / Q000378:metabolism; D051381:Rats; D017207:Rats, Sprague-Dawley; D017382:Reactive Oxygen Species / Q000378:metabolism; D020133:Reverse Transcriptase Polymerase Chain Reaction; D015398:Signal Transduction / Q000187:drug effects; D013482:Superoxide Dismutase / Q000235:genetics / Q000378:metabolism
chemical_list: D006063:Chorionic Gonadotropin; D017382:Reactive Oxygen Species; D002374:Catalase; D013482:Superoxide Dismutase; D011065:Poly(ADP-ribose) Polymerases; D005982:Glutathione Transferase; D048031:JNK Mitogen-Activated Protein Kinases; C505528:Casp8 protein, rat; D053148:Caspase 3; D053181:Caspase 8; D000111:Acetylcysteine