title: N-acetylcysteine relieves oxidative stress and protects hippocampus of rat from radiation-induced apoptosis by inhibiting caspase-3.
abstract: It has been recognized that radiation-induced effects remain a significant risk. An accumulation of reactive oxygen species (ROS) is considered to be one factor that contributes to neurodegenerative changes. The aim of our study was to investigate the potential radioprotective effects of NAC. Male Sprague-Dawley rats underwent radiation. Irradiation was performed at room temperature with a 4-Gy dose of radiation. A dose of N-acetylcysteine (NAC) was performed 15 min prior to irradiation intraperitoneally. The methods of immunohistochemistry, TUNEL staining, Nissl staining, qRT-PCR, analysis of reactive oxygen species and Western blot were performed. In conclusion, our results demonstrate that NAC inhibits apoptosis induced by irradiation via the inhibition of caspase-3. We demonstrated a decrease in caspase-3 mRNA that was present at 24h of NAC treatment. Such mRNA decrease was accompanied by a decrease of protein. In the present study, NAC effectively antagonized oxidation induced by irradiation. These results provide evidence that the neural protective effect and the antioxidant effect of NAC contribute to metabolic activity.
authors.affiliation: Laboratory of Biomedicine & Department of Hemopathic Tumor of Mongolian Medicine, The Affiliated Hospital of Inner Mongolia University for the Nationalities, Neimenggu Tongliao, PR China; Tianjin Key Lab of Molecular Nuclear Medicine, Institute of Radiation Medicine of Chinese Academy of Medical Science and Peking Union Medical College, Tianjin, PR China; Department of Human Anatomy, The Medical School of Inner Mongolia University for the Nationalities, Neimenggu Tongliao, PR China.
authors.forename: Jianguo
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Li
authors.affiliation: Department of Human Anatomy, The Medical School of Inner Mongolia University for the Nationalities, Neimenggu Tongliao, PR China.
authors.forename: Zhuangzhi
authors.initials: Z
authors.lastname: Meng
authors.affiliation: Department of Human Anatomy, The Medical School of Inner Mongolia University for the Nationalities, Neimenggu Tongliao, PR China.
authors.forename: Guowei
authors.initials: G
authors.lastname: Zhang
authors.affiliation: Tianjin Key Lab of Molecular Nuclear Medicine, Institute of Radiation Medicine of Chinese Academy of Medical Science and Peking Union Medical College, Tianjin, PR China.
authors.forename: Yonghua
authors.initials: Y
authors.lastname: Xing
authors.affiliation: Tianjin Key Lab of Molecular Nuclear Medicine, Institute of Radiation Medicine of Chinese Academy of Medical Science and Peking Union Medical College, Tianjin, PR China.
authors.forename: Li
authors.initials: L
authors.lastname: Feng
authors.affiliation: Tianjin Key Lab of Molecular Nuclear Medicine, Institute of Radiation Medicine of Chinese Academy of Medical Science and Peking Union Medical College, Tianjin, PR China.
authors.forename: Saijun
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Fan
authors.affiliation: Tianjin Key Lab of Molecular Nuclear Medicine, Institute of Radiation Medicine of Chinese Academy of Medical Science and Peking Union Medical College, Tianjin, PR China.
authors.forename: Feiyue
authors.initials: F
authors.lastname: Fan
authors.affiliation: Laboratory of Biomedicine & Department of Hemopathic Tumor of Mongolian Medicine, The Affiliated Hospital of Inner Mongolia University for the Nationalities, Neimenggu Tongliao, PR China. Electronic address: burenbatutlmd@126.com.
authors.forename: Batu
authors.initials: B
authors.lastname: Buren
authors.affiliation: Tianjin Key Lab of Molecular Nuclear Medicine, Institute of Radiation Medicine of Chinese Academy of Medical Science and Peking Union Medical College, Tianjin, PR China. Electronic address: liuqiang70@126.com.
authors.forename: Qiang
authors.initials: Q
authors.lastname: Liu
mesh_terms: D000111:Acetylcysteine / Q000494:pharmacology*; D000818:Animals; D017209:Apoptosis / Q000187:drug effects / Q000528:radiation effects*; D053148:Caspase 3 / Q000378:metabolism*; D061945:Caspase Inhibitors / Q000494:pharmacology; D005720:Gamma Rays / Q000009:adverse effects; D006624:Hippocampus / Q000166:cytology / Q000187:drug effects* / Q000528:radiation effects*; D020287:In Situ Nick-End Labeling; D008297:Male; D018384:Oxidative Stress / Q000187:drug effects*; D011897:Random Allocation; D051381:Rats; D017207:Rats, Sprague-Dawley
chemical_list: D061945:Caspase Inhibitors; D053148:Caspase 3; D000111:Acetylcysteine
keywords: Caspase-3; Hippocampus; N-acetylcysteine; Radiation; Reactive oxygen species