title: Protective effects of N-acetylcysteine against monosodium glutamate-induced astrocytic cell death.
abstract: Monosodium glutamate (MSG) is a flavor enhancer, largely used in the food industry and it was reported to have excitotoxic effects. Higher amounts of MSG consumption have been related with increased risk of many diseases, including Chinese restaurant syndrome and metabolic syndromes in human. This study investigated the protective effects of N-acetylcysteine (NAC) on MSG-induced cytotoxicity in C6 astrocytic cells. MSG (20 mM)-induced reactive oxygen species (ROS) generation and apoptotic cell death were significantly attenuated by NAC (500 μM) pretreatment. NAC effectively inhibited the MSG-induced mitochondrial membrane potential (MMP) loss and intracellular reduced glutathione (GSH) depletion. In addition, NAC significantly attenuated MSG-induced endoplasmic reticulum (ER) stress markers, such as XBP1 splicing and CHOP, PERK, and GRP78 up-regulation. Furthermore, NAC prevented the changes of MSG-induced Bcl-2 expression level. These results suggest that NAC can protect C6 astrocytic cells against MSG-induced oxidative stress, mitochondrial dysfunction, and ER stress.
authors.affiliation: Department of Biotechnology, Chosun University, Gwangju 501-759, Republic of Korea.
authors.forename: Euteum
authors.initials: E
authors.lastname: Park
authors.affiliation: Department of Life Science, Graduate School, Chosun University, Gwangju 501-759, Republic of Korea.
authors.forename: Kyoung Hwan
authors.initials: KH
authors.lastname: Yu
authors.affiliation: Oral Biology Research Institute, Chosun University School of Dentistry, Gwangju 501-759, Republic of Korea.
authors.forename: Do Kyung
authors.initials: DK
authors.lastname: Kim
authors.affiliation: Department of Alternative Medicine, Gwangju University, Gwangju 503-703, Republic of Korea.
authors.forename: Seung
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Kim
authors.affiliation: Department of Biotechnology, Chosun University, Gwangju 501-759, Republic of Korea; Central Department of Zoology, Tribhuvan University, Kirtipur, Kathmandu, Nepal.
authors.forename: Kumar
authors.initials: K
authors.lastname: Sapkota
authors.affiliation: Department of Biotechnology, Chosun University, Gwangju 501-759, Republic of Korea; Department of Biomedical Science, Chosun University, Gwangju 501-759, Republic of Korea; Department of Life Science, Graduate School, Chosun University, Gwangju 501-759, Republic of Korea.
authors.forename: Sung-Jun
authors.initials: SJ
authors.lastname: Kim
authors.affiliation: Oral Biology Research Institute, Chosun University School of Dentistry, Gwangju 501-759, Republic of Korea.
authors.forename: Chun Sung
authors.initials: CS
authors.lastname: Kim
authors.affiliation: Department of Biotechnology, Chosun University, Gwangju 501-759, Republic of Korea; Department of Biomedical Science, Chosun University, Gwangju 501-759, Republic of Korea; Department of Life Science, Graduate School, Chosun University, Gwangju 501-759, Republic of Korea. Electronic address: hsjeon@chosun.ac.kr.
authors.forename: Hong Sung
authors.initials: HS
authors.lastname: Chun
mesh_terms: D000111:Acetylcysteine / Q000494:pharmacology*; D000818:Animals; D001253:Astrocytes / Q000166:cytology / Q000187:drug effects* / Q000378:metabolism; D001483:Base Sequence; D016923:Cell Death / Q000187:drug effects*; D002460:Cell Line; D017931:DNA Primers; D000091342:Endoplasmic Reticulum Chaperone BiP; D053078:Membrane Potential, Mitochondrial / Q000187:drug effects; D016133:Polymerase Chain Reaction; D017382:Reactive Oxygen Species / Q000378:metabolism; D012970:Sodium Glutamate / Q000494:pharmacology*
chemical_list: D017931:DNA Primers; D000091342:Endoplasmic Reticulum Chaperone BiP; C000717247:HSPA5 protein, human; D017382:Reactive Oxygen Species; D012970:Sodium Glutamate; D000111:Acetylcysteine
keywords: Apoptosis; Astrocyte; ER stress; Monosodium glutamate; N-acetylcysteine