3-(4-5-dimethylthiazol-2-yl)-5-(3-carboxymethoxyphenyl)-2-(4-sulfophenyl)-2h-tetrazolium and Neuroblastoma

The combination of an in vitro BBB model (4d/24w) with a neuronal cell line (SH-SY5Y) provides a convenient approach to explore the importance of BBB permeability in neurotoxicity assessment of compounds. The toxicity of 16 compounds on SH-SY5Y cells was evaluated after 24h incubation with each compound and compared to their toxicity on SH-SY5Y after passage through the BBB model. Nine out of 16 compounds were found toxic after direct exposure at 100muM while only three still induced toxicity on SH-SY5Y cells after BBB transport. The BBB permeability values of each compound revealed that in the case of compounds that did not induce toxicity, the amount that crossed the BBB was not enough to exert a toxic effect on the neuronal cells. Since disrupting the BBB may also cause unwanted effect on brain cells, the BBB toxicity of these compounds have been assessed. Our results prompted the importance of BBB permeability assessment in neurotoxicity evaluation, as it allows a better estimation of the actual concentration at the target site.

Topics: Animal Testing Alternatives; Animals; Blood-Brain Barrier; Cattle; Cell Line, Tumor; Cell Membrane Permeability; Cell Survival; Humans; Nervous System; Neuroblastoma; Neurons; Predictive Value of Tests; Reproducibility of Results; Tetrazolium Salts; Thiazoles; Xenobiotics

Protein aggregation is central to most neurodegenerative diseases, as shown by familial case studies and by animal models. A modified 'amyloid cascade' hypothesis for Alzheimer's disease states that prefibrillar oligomers, also called amyloid-beta-derived diffusible ligands or globular oligomers, are the responsible toxic agent. It has been proposed that these oligomeric species, as shown for amyloid-beta, beta2-microglobulin or prion fragments, exert toxicity by forming pores in membranes, initiating a cascade of detrimental events for the cell. Interaction of granular aggregates and globular oligomers of an amyloidogenic protein, human stefin B, with model lipid membranes and monolayers was studied. Prefibrillar oligomers/aggregates of stefin B are shown to cause concentration-dependent membrane leaking, in contrast to the homologous stefin A. Prefibrillar oligomers/aggregates of stefin B also increase the surface pressure at an air-water interface, i.e. they have amphipathic character and are surface seeking. In addition, they show stronger interaction with 1,2-dioleoyl-sn-glycero-3-phosphocholine and 1,2-dioleoyl-sn-glycero-3-[phospho-rac-(1-glycerol)] monolayers than native stefin A or nonaggregated stefin B. Prefibrillar aggregates interact predominantly with acidic phospholipids, such as dioleoylphosphatidylglycerol or dipalmitoylphosphatidylserine, as shown by calcein release experiments and surface plasmon resonance. The same preparations are toxic to neuroblastoma cells, as determined by the 3-(4,5-dimethylthiazol-2-yl)-5-(3-carboxymethoxyphenyl)-2-(4-sulfophenyl)-2H-tetrazolium assay, again in contrast to the homologue stefin A, which does not aggregate under any of the conditions studied. This study is aimed to contribute to the general model of cellular toxicity induced by prefibrillar oligomers of amyloidogenic proteins, not necessarily involved in pathology.

Topics: Cell Membrane; Cystatin A; Cystatin B; Cystatins; Cysteine Proteinase Inhibitors; Fluoresceins; Humans; Lipid Bilayers; Membrane Lipids; Neuroblastoma; Neurodegenerative Diseases; Neurofibrillary Tangles; Permeability; Phosphatidylcholines; Phosphatidylglycerols; Surface Properties; Tetrazolium Salts; Thiazoles; Toxicity Tests; Tumor Cells, Cultured

Olanzapine has previously been shown to stimulate the growth of neuronal cells in culture. A major goal of the present studies was to determine if olanzapine also provided neuroprotection to pheochromocytoma (PC12) cells, SH-SY5Y neuroblastoma cells, and primary cultures of rat cortical neurons. Olanzapine was mitogenic and enhanced the survival of PC12 cells, SH-SY5Y cells and 3T3 preadipocytes, but not L6 myoblasts or myeloma cells. It protected neuronal cells from death induced by serum and glutamine deprivation, amyloid beta peptide (25-35), and fluphenazine. Molecular mechanisms of the neuroprotection by olanzapine were explored, specifically the activation of various protein kinase signaling pathways including Akt/protein kinase B (PKB), extracellular-regulated kinase (ERK), ERK1/2, and mitogen-activated protein kinase (MAPK), p38. Olanzapine treatment led to rapid phosphorylation of kinases from all three pathways in PC12 cells. Phosphorylation of Akt was blocked with selective inhibitors (wortmannin and LY294002), which implicates phosphoinositide 3-kinase (PI3K) in the signaling cascade. Short-term mitogenic effects of olanzapine were abolished with a selective inhibitor of Akt, but not by inhibition of the ERK pathway. Other antipsychotic drugs stimulated phosphorylation of a subset of the kinase panel, but not all three kinases. The present findings demonstrate that olanzapine has both mitogenic and neuroprotective effects in neuronal cells.

Topics: 3-Phosphoinositide-Dependent Protein Kinases; Amyloid beta-Peptides; Animals; Antipsychotic Agents; Benzodiazepines; Blotting, Western; Bromodeoxyuridine; Cell Division; Cells, Cultured; Cerebral Cortex; Culture Media, Serum-Free; Dose-Response Relationship, Drug; Drug Interactions; Enzyme Activation; Enzyme Inhibitors; Humans; Mice; Mitogen-Activated Protein Kinase 1; Mitogen-Activated Protein Kinase 3; Mitogen-Activated Protein Kinases; Neuroblastoma; Neurons; Olanzapine; p38 Mitogen-Activated Protein Kinases; Peptide Fragments; Pertussis Toxin; Phosphorylation; Protein Serine-Threonine Kinases; Rats; Tetrazolium Salts; Thiazoles; Time Factors