title: Protective Effect of L-Theanine on Cadmium-Induced Apoptosis in PC12 Cells by Inhibiting the Mitochondria-Mediated Pathway.
abstract: L-Theanine is an amino acid derivative from green tea. The present work was aimed at the effect of L-theanine on neuron-like rat pheochromocytoma (PC12) cells stimulated with cadmium chloride. Treatment with L-theanine before cadmium exposure increased cell viability; the experiments of Annexin V/PI staining indicated that L-theanine inhibited cadmium-induced cell apoptosis. Meanwhile, L-theanine decreased ROS production and protected from cadmium-induced disruption of mitochondrial transmembrane potential. Compared with cadmium-treated cells, L-theanine could also decrease the ratio of Bax/Bcl-2, as well as the level of cleaved caspase-9, caspase-3 and poly(ADP-ribose) polymerase. Furthermore, L-theanine depresses cadmium-induced up regulation of phosphorylations of PI3K/Akt, MAPK ERK1/2, and JNK signaling. These data suggest that L-theanine pretreatment reduces severity of cadmium toxicity probably via antioxidant action. Therefore, it may be concluded that L-theanine could be exploited for prevention of cadmium-induced diseases.
authors.affiliation: Jiangsu Province Key Laboratory for Molecular and Medical Biotechnology, College of Life Science, Nanjing Normal University, Nanjing, 210046, Jiangsu, People's Republic of China.
authors.forename: Peiling
authors.initials: P
authors.lastname: Ben
authors.forename: Zhengping
authors.initials: Z
authors.lastname: Zhang
authors.forename: Chunxia
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Xuan
authors.forename: Shasha
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Sun
authors.forename: Lei
authors.initials: L
authors.lastname: Shen
authors.forename: Yanhong
authors.initials: Y
authors.lastname: Gao
authors.forename: Xiang
authors.initials: X
authors.lastname: Cao
authors.forename: Yi
authors.initials: Y
authors.lastname: Zhou
authors.forename: Lei
authors.initials: L
authors.lastname: Lan
authors.forename: Zhimin
authors.initials: Z
authors.lastname: Yin
authors.forename: Lan
authors.initials: L
authors.lastname: Luo
mesh_terms: D000818:Animals; D017209:Apoptosis / Q000187:drug effects* / Q000502:physiology; D002104:Cadmium / Q000633:toxicity*; D002470:Cell Survival / Q000187:drug effects / Q000502:physiology; D019610:Cytoprotection / Q000187:drug effects* / Q000502:physiology; D004305:Dose-Response Relationship, Drug; D005971:Glutamates / Q000494:pharmacology*; D008928:Mitochondria / Q000187:drug effects* / Q000502:physiology; D016716:PC12 Cells; D051381:Rats; D015398:Signal Transduction / Q000187:drug effects* / Q000502:physiology
chemical_list: D005971:Glutamates; D002104:Cadmium; C026166:theanine