ABSTRACT
Valproic acid (VPA), used to treat bipolar mood disorder and seizures, also inhibits histone deacetylase (HDAC). Here, we found that VPA and other HDAC inhibitors, butyrate and trichostatin A, robustly protected mature cerebellar granule cell cultures from excitotoxicity induced by SYM 2081 ((2S, 4R)-4-methylglutamate), an inhibitor of excitatory amino-acid transporters and an agonist of low-affinity kainate receptors. These neuroprotective effects required protracted treatment and were correlated with enhanced acetylated histone levels, indicating HDAC inhibition. SYM-induced excitotoxicity was blocked by MK-801 ((5R,10S)-(+)-5-methyl-10,11-dihydro-5H-dibenzo[a,d]cyclohepten-5,10-imine hydrogen maleate), supporting that the toxicity was largely N-methyl-D-aspartate receptor dependent. SYM excitotoxicity had apoptotic characteristics and was prevented by a caspase inhibitor. SYM-induced apoptosis was associated with a rapid and robust nuclear accumulation of glyceraldehyde-3-phosphate dehydrogenase (GAPDH), a housekeeping gene previously shown to be proapoptotic. VPA pretreatment suppressed SYM 2081-induced GAPDH nuclear accumulation, concurrent with its neuroprotective effects. Chromatin immunoprecipitation (ChIP) revealed that GAPDH is copresent with acetylated histone H3, including Lys9-acetylated histone, and that VPA treatment caused a time-dependent decrease in the levels of nuclear GAPDH with a concomitant increase in acetylated histones in the ChIP complex. Our results strongly suggest that VPA protects neurons from excitotoxicity through inhibition of HDAC activity and that this protective effect may involve suppression of excitotoxicity-induced accumulation of GAPDH protein in the nucleus.
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Abbreviations
- Ac-DEVD-CHO:
-
Ac-Asp-Glu-Val-Asp-CHO
- AMPA:
-
α-amino-3-hydroxy-5-methylisoxazole-4-propionic acid
- CGC:
-
cerebellar granule cells
- CNQX:
-
6-cyano-7-nitroquinoxaline-2,3-dione
- DAPI:
-
4,6-diaminodiphenyl-2-phenylindole
- DIV:
-
day in vitro
- DMEM:
-
Dulbecco's modified Eagle's medium
- DTT:
-
dithiothreitol
- GABA:
-
γ-aminobutyric acid
- GAPDH:
-
glyceraldehyde-3-phosphate dehydrogenase
- GSK:
-
glycogen synthase kinase
- GYKI 52466:
-
2,3-benzodiazepine
- HDAC:
-
histone deacetylase
- MK-801:
-
(5R,10S)-(+)-5-methyl-10,11-dihydro-5H-dibenzo[a,d]cyclohepten-5,10-imine hydrogen maleate
- MTT:
-
3-(4,5-dimethylthiazol-2-yl)-2,5-diphenyl tetrazolium bromide
- NBQX:
-
1,2,3,4-tetrahydro-6-nitro-2,3-dioxo-benzo[f]quinoxaline-7-sulfonamide
- NMDA:
-
N-methyl-D-aspartate
- PMSF:
-
phenylmethylsulfonyl fluoride
- TSA:
-
trichostatin A (4,6-dimethyl-7-[p-dimethylaminophenyl]-7-oxohepta-2,4-dieno-hydroxamic acid)
- VPA:
-
valproic acid
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Acknowledgements
We thank Lori Christ in our Section of NIMH, NIH, as well as Yang-Ja Lee-Wickner and Mariusz Karbowski of NINDS for their technical assistance and advice.
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Kanai, H., Sawa, A., Chen, RW. et al. Valproic acid inhibits histone deacetylase activity and suppresses excitotoxicity-induced GAPDH nuclear accumulation and apoptotic death in neurons. Pharmacogenomics J 4, 336–344 (2004). https://doi.org/10.1038/sj.tpj.6500269
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1038/sj.tpj.6500269
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