title: Shiga toxin-2 enhances heat-shock-induced apoptotic cell death in cultured and primary glial cells.
abstract: The blood-brain barrier (BBB) selectively controls the homeostasis of the central nervous system (CNS) environment using specific structural and biochemical features of the endothelial cells, pericytes, and glial limitans. Glial cells, which represent the cellular components of the mature BBB, are the most numerous cells in the brain and are indispensable for neuronal functioning. We investigated the effects of Shiga toxin on glial cells in vitro. Shiga toxin failed to inhibit cell proliferation but attenuated expression of heat shock protein 70, which is one of the chaperone proteins, in cultured and primary glial cells. Furthermore, the combination of Shiga toxin and a heat shock procedure induced cell apoptosis and decreased cell proliferation in both cells. Thus, we speculate that glial cell death in response to the combination of Shiga toxin and heat shock might weaken the BBB and induce central nervous system complications.
authors.affiliation: Department of Physiology, Graduate School of Medical Science, Kanazawa University, 13-1 Takara-machi, Kanazawa, 920-8640, Japan, ns@med.kanazawa-u.ac.jp.
authors.forename: Naotoshi
authors.initials: N
authors.lastname: Sugimoto
authors.forename: Tomoko
authors.initials: T
authors.lastname: Toma
authors.forename: Masaki
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Shimizu
authors.forename: Mondo
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Kuroda
authors.forename: Taizo
authors.initials: T
authors.lastname: Wada
authors.forename: Akihiro
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Yachie
mesh_terms: D000818:Animals; D017209:Apoptosis / Q000187:drug effects*; D001812:Blood-Brain Barrier / Q000378:metabolism; D016923:Cell Death / Q000187:drug effects*; D049109:Cell Proliferation / Q000187:drug effects; D002478:Cells, Cultured; D006358:Hot Temperature; D009457:Neuroglia / Q000187:drug effects*; D051381:Rats; D022641:Shiga Toxin 2 / Q000494:pharmacology*
chemical_list: D022641:Shiga Toxin 2