Abstract.
We tested the potential cytoprotective role of C-phycocyanin in rat cerebellar granule cell cultures. Cell death was induced by potassium and serum (K/S) withdrawal. Cell viability was studied using the neutral red assay and laser scanning cytometry with propidium iodide as fluorochrome.
C-phycocyanin (1–3 mg/ml) showed a neuroprotective effect against 24 h of K/S deprivation in cerebellar granule cells. After 4 h K/S deprivation this compound (3 mg/ml) inhibited formation of reactive oxygen species, measured as 2′,7′-dichlorofluorescein fluorescence, showing its scavenger capability. Pre-treatment with C-phycocyanin reduced thymidine incorporation into DNA below control values and reduced dramatically apoptotic bodies as visualized by propidium iodide, indicating inhibition of apoptosis induced by K/S deprivation.
Flow cytometry studies, using propidium iodide in TritonX100 permeabilized cells, indicated that 24 h K/S deprivation acts as a proliferative signal for cerebellar granule cells, which show an increase in S-phase percentage and cells progressed into the apoptotic pathway. C-phycocyanin protected cerebellar granule cells from the apoptosis induced by deprivation. These results suggest that C-phycocyanin prevents apoptosis in cerebellar granule cells probably through the antioxidant activity. It is proposed that K/S deprivation-induced apoptosis could be due, in part, to an alteration in the cell cycle mediated by an oxidative stress mechanism.
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Rimbau, V., Camins, A., Pubill, D. et al. C-Phycocyanin protects cerebellar granule cells from low potassium/serum deprivation-induced apoptosis. Naunyn-Schmied Arch Pharmacol 364, 96–104 (2001). https://doi.org/10.1007/s002100100437
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s002100100437