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A neurotoxin N-methyl(R)salsolinol induces apoptotic cell death in differentiated human dopaminergic neuroblastoma
W Maruyama1, M S Benedetti, T Takahashi
1Department of Basic Gerontology, National Institute for Longevity Sciences, Obu, Japan.
Abstract:
In retinoic acid-differentiated SH-SY5Y cells an endogenous neurotoxin N-methyl(R)salsolinol induced apoptotic cell death. Using a single cell gel electrophoresis (comet) assay, DNA damage was quantitatively measured, and it was found to depend on the concentration of N-methyl(R)salsolinol and the incubation time up to 6 h. The differentiated cells were more sensitive to N-methyl(R)salsolinol than the undifferentiated cells. Radical scavengers protected the cells from DNA damage, indicating oxidative stress is involved in the apoptotic cell process. These results suggest that apoptosis induced by endogenous neurotoxins might be the mechanism of the cell death of dopamine neurons in Parkinson's disease.