title: Puerarin prevents high glucose-induced apoptosis of Schwann cells by inhibiting oxidative stress.
abstract: Oxidative stress may be the unifying factor for the injury caused by hyperglycemia in diabetic peripheral neuropathy. Puerarin is the major isoflavonoid derived from Radix puerariae and has been shown to be effective in increasing superoxide dismutase activity. This study sought to investigate the neuroprotective effect of puerarin on high glucose-induced oxidative stress and Schwann cell apoptosis in vitro. Intracellular reactive oxygen radicals and mitochondrial transmembrane potential were detected by flow cytometry analysis. Apoptosis was confirmed by TUNEL and oxidative stress was monitored using an enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay for the DNA marker 8-hydroxy-2-deoxyguanosine. The expression levels of bax and bcl-2 were analyzed by quantitative real-time reverse transcriptase-PCR, while protein expression of cleaved caspase-3 and -9 were analyzed by means of western blotting. Results suggested that puerarin treatment inhibited high glucose-induced oxidative stress, mitochondrial depolarization and apoptosis in a dose-dependent manner. Furthermore, puerarin treatment downregulated Bax expression, upregulated bcl-2 expression and attenuated the activation of caspase-3 and -9. Overall, our results indicated that puerarin antagonized high glucose-induced oxidative stress and apoptosis in Schwann cells.
authors.affiliation: Institute of Stomatology, Chinese PLA General Hospital, Beijing 100853, China.
authors.forename: Yingying
authors.initials: Y
authors.lastname: Wu
authors.affiliation: Department of Endocrinology, General Hospital of Shenyang Military Region, Shenyang 110016, Liaoning Province, China.
authors.forename: Bing
authors.initials: B
authors.lastname: Xue
authors.affiliation: Department of Endocrinology, Chinese PLA General Hospital, Beijing 100853, China.
authors.forename: Xiaojin
authors.initials: X
authors.lastname: Li
authors.affiliation: Institute of Stomatology, Chinese PLA General Hospital, Beijing 100853, China.
authors.forename: Hongchen
authors.initials: H
authors.lastname: Liu
keywords: 8-hydroxy-2-deoxyguanosine; Schwann cell; apoptosis; caspase; diabetic peripheral neuropathy; hyperglycemia; mitochondrial transmembrane potential; oxidative stress; puerarin; reactive oxygen radical