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Updated: Aug 19, 2026

Strategies for Study of Neuroprotection from Cold-preconditioning
Published on: September 3, 2010
Neuroprotection via pro-survival protein kinase C isoforms associated with Bcl-2 family members
Orly Weinreb1, Orit Bar-Am, Tamar Amit
1Eve Topf and Rappaport Family Research Institute, Technion-Faculty of Medicine, Haifa, Israel.
Abstract:
This study provides new insights into neuroprotection involving interaction of protein kinase C (PKC) pathway with Bcl-2 family proteins. Using a model of serum deprivation, we investigated the mechanism by which the anti-Parkinson/monoamine oxidase (MAO)-B inhibitor drug, rasagiline, exerts its neuroprotective effect in rat pheochromocytoma PC12 cells. Here, we report that rasagiline (0.1-10 microM) decreased apoptosis via multiple protection mechanisms, including the stimulation of PKC phosphorylation; up-regulation of PKCalpha and PKC mRNAs, induction of Bcl-xL, Bcl-w, and brain-derived neurotrophic factor (BDNF) mRNAs; and down-regulation of Bad and Bax mRNAs. Moreover, rasagiline inhibited the cleavage and activation of procaspase-3 and poly (ADP-ribose) polymerase (PARP), whereas the PKC inhibitor, GF109203X, reversed these actions. Similarly, rasagiline decreased serum-free-induced levels of the important regulator of cell death, Bad, which was also blocked by GF109203X, indicating the involvement of PKC in rasagiline-induced cell survival. Furthermore, these studies have established that PKC- and Bcl-2-dependent neuroprotective activity of rasagiline is dependent on its propargyl moiety, because propargylamine had similar effects with the same potency.
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