Apoptosis induced by Aβ25-35 peptide is Ca(2+) -IP3 signaling-dependent in murine astrocytes

Although the accumulation of the neurotoxic peptide β-amyloid (Aβ) in the central nervous system is a hallmark of Alzheimer's disease, whether Aβ acts in astrocytes is unclear, and downstream functional consequences have yet to be defined. Here, we show that cytosolic Ca(2+) dysregulation, induced by a neurotoxic fragment (Aβ25-35), caused apoptosis in a concentration-dependent manner, leading to cytoplasmic Ca(2+) mobilization from extra- and intracellular sources, mainly from the endoplasmic reticulum (ER) via IP3 receptor activation. This mechanism was related to Aβ-mediated apoptosis by the intrinsic pathway because the expression of pro-apoptotic Bax was accompanied by its translocation in cells transfected with GFP-Bax. Aβ-mediated apoptosis was reduced by BAPTA-AM, a fast Ca(2+) chelator, indicating that an increase in intracellular Ca(2+) was involved in cell death. Interestingly, the Bax translocation was dependent on Ca(2+) mobilization from IP3 receptors because pre-incubation with xestospongin C, a selective IP3 receptor inhibitor, abolished this response. Taken together, these results provide evidence that Aβ dysregulation of Ca(2+) homeostasis induces ER depletion of Ca(2+) stores and leads to apoptosis; this mechanism plays a significant role in Aβ apoptotic cell death and might be a new target for neurodegeneration treatments.