Danthron Inhibits the Neurotoxicity Induced by Various Compounds Causing Oxidative Damages Including .BETA.-Amyloid (25-35) in Primary Cortical Cultures

Abstract

Alzheimer's disease (AD) is known to induce deficits in learning and memory in older patients. The neuropathological hallmarks of AD are senile plaques and neurofibrillary tangles containing b-amyloid protein.Although the neurodegenerative mechanism of AD remains unclear, oxidative insults are important factors in the acceleration of neuronal death. 1) Some investigators have reported that b-amyloid itself does not directly contribute to the pathway of oxidative stress. 2,3) However, other investigators have demonstrated that bamyloid (25-35) induces a depletion of neuronal glutathione (GSH) in neuronal culture. 4,5) In addition, both bA25-35 and bA1-42 Ca 2ϩ -dependently depleted endogenous glutathione in hippocampal astrocytes and secondarily depleted glutathione in neuronal cells. 5) Akama and his colleagues have demonstrated that the b-amyloid protein stimulates nitric oxide (NO) production in astrocytes by a cytokine-dependent pathway. 6) Recently, the abnormal accumulation of iron and redox-active iron was found to contribute to b-amyloid-mediated neurotoxicity in AD. 7,8) Iron ions promote the aggregation of b-amyloid in some situations. 9) Brains from patients with AD exhibit a disruption of iron metabolism. 10) We recently observed that danthron, a component of Rumex japonicus, senna, and aloe, attenuates b-amyloid-induced neurotoxicity in a murine cortical culture system. Danthron (1,8-dihydroxyanthraquinone) is known to be a potential mutagen or carcinogen and is present in laxatives and Chinese herbal medicines, such as senna (Cassia senna) and aloe. 11,12) Before we evaluated the protective effect of danthron in b-amyloid neurotoxicity, we screened the plants used in 128 kinds of Chinese herbal medicines for the ability to rescue neuronal cells from b-amyloid (25-35) neurotoxicity and found that Rumex japonicus extract ameliorated the neuronal injury induced by b-amyloid in a mixed cortical culture system. Therefore, we examined the inhibitory action of danthron on b-amyloid neurotoxicity in primary cortical cultures. In addition, we looked for an inhibitory action of danthron on apoptosis-or excitotoxin (N-methyl-D-aspartate (NMDA) or kainite)-induced neurotoxicity using the same culture paradigms. MATERIALS AND METHODS Neuronal and Glial CulturesMixed cortical cell cultures containing both glia and neurons were prepared from ICR mice at gestation day 15-16, as previously described. 13) Briefly, dissociated neocortical cells (2.5-3.0ϫ10 5 cells/ well) were plated onto primaria-coated 24-well plates (Falcon) containing a glial bed in a plating medium consisting of Eagle's minimal essential medium (MEM; Earle's salts, supplied glutamine-free) supplemented with 20 mM glucose, 2 mM L-glutamine, 5% fetal bovine serum, and 5% horse serum. Cytosine arabinoside (10 mM) was added 5 d after plating to halt the growth of non-neuronal cells. Cultures were maintained at 37°C in a humidified CO 2 incubator and used for experiments between days 14 and 16 in vitro. Glial cultures were prepared from postnatal (1-3 ...

β-N-methylamino-l-alanine enhances neurotoxicity through multiple mechanisms

“…Amyloid-β and MPP+ are of particular importance in that amyloid-β toxicity is considered to be a model of Alzheimer's disease (Gotx et al, 2004) and MPP+ of Parkinson's disease (Gerlach and Riederer, 1996). The common point for BMAA potentiation of these injuries may be that amyloid-β (Kwon et al, 2004) and MPP+ (Johannessen et al, 1986) are known to induce oxidative stress, as do exposure to NMDA, Fe, and BSO (Dugan et al, 1995;Lobner et al, 2003).…”

Danthron Induced Apoptosis Through Mitochondria- and Caspase-3-Dependent Pathways in Human Brain Glioblastoma Multiforms GBM 8401 Cells

“…It was reported that human melanosis coli was induced in the large intestine of guinea pig followed by daily oral administration of the anthraquinone danthron then led to cause a transient, dose-related wave of apoptosis of the colonic surface epithelial cells [7]. Treatment with danthron may, in part, reduce neurotoxicity related to betaamyloid protein by both dominant inhibitory effects on membrane lipid peroxidation and glutathione deprivation in primary cortical cultures [8]. There are no report to address danthron-induced apoptosis in human cancer cells and also no available information regarding the possible pathway for danthron-induced apoptosis.…”

Anthraquinone-2-sulfonic acid (AQ2S) is A Novel Neurotherapeutic Agent

“…However, danthron was ineffective against zinc toxicity, O 2 − radicals, N -methyl-𝒟-aspartic acid, kainate, staurosporine (STS), or dextromethorphan. 14 …”