tretinoin and 1-10-phenanthroline

The biological effects of vitamin A (retinol) are generally ascribed to the activation of nuclear retinoid receptors by retinoic acid (RA), considered the most biologically active retinoid. However, it is not established whether the cytotoxic effects of vitamin A are due to retinoid receptors activation by RA. Vitamin A-related toxicity is associated with cellular redox modifications, often leading to severe oxidative damage, but the role of RA in this effect is also uncertain. We therefore studied the formation of intracellular reactive species induced by retinol and retinoic acid in PC12 cells, using an in vitro dichlorofluorescein (DCFH) fluorescence real-time assay. We observed that retinol, but not retinoic acid, induced a steady increase in DCF-based fluorescence over 60 min of incubation, and this increase was reversed by antioxidant (N-acetyl-cysteine and alpha-tocopherol) pre-treatment. This effect was also inhibited by the iron chelator 1,10-phenantroline and the impermeable calcium chelator EGTA. These results suggest that vitamin A-associated cytotoxicity is probably related to an oxidant mechanism dependent on iron and calcium, and the formation of intracellular reactive species is related to retinol, but not to RA.

Topics: Animals; Antioxidants; Calcium; Cell Survival; Chelating Agents; Egtazic Acid; Fluorescent Dyes; Iron Chelating Agents; Kinetics; PC12 Cells; Phenanthrolines; Rats; Reactive Oxygen Species; Tetrazolium Salts; Thiazoles; Tretinoin; Vitamin A

Remodeling of extracellular matrix (ECM) is one of the key events in many developmental processes. In the present study, a temporal profile of gelatinase activities in regenerating salamander limbs was examined zymographically. In addition, the effect of retinoic acid (RA) on these enzyme activities was examined to relate the pattern-duplicating effect of RA in limb regenerates with gelatinase activities. During regeneration, various types of gelatinase activities were detected, and these activities were at their maximum levels at the dedifferentiation stage. Upon treatment with chelating agents EDTA and 1,10-phenanthroline, the enzyme activities were inhibited indicating that those enzymes are likely matrix metalloproteinases (MMPs). Considering the molecular sizes and the decrease of molecular sizes by treatment with p-aminophenylmercuric acetate, an artificial activator of proMMP, some of the gelatinases expressed during limb regeneration are presumed to be MMP-2 and MMP-9. In RA-treated regenerates, overall gelatinase activities increased, especially the MMP-2-like gelatinase activity which increased markedly. These results suggest that MMP-2-like and MMP-9-like gelatinases play a role in ECM remodeling during regeneration, and that gelatinases are involved in the excessive dedifferentiation after RA treatment.

Topics: Ambystoma mexicanum; Animals; Cell Differentiation; Chelating Agents; Edetic Acid; Enzyme Activation; Extremities; Gelatinases; Phenanthrolines; Phenylmercuric Acetate; Regeneration; Time Factors; Tissue Inhibitor of Metalloproteinases; Tretinoin; Urodela