colistin and Neuroblastoma

Neurotoxicity is an adverse effect patients experience during colistin therapy. The development of effective neuroprotective agents that can be co-administered during polymyxin therapy remains a priority area in antimicrobial chemotherapy. The present study investigates the neuroprotective effect of the synergistic tetracycline antibiotic minocycline against colistin-induced neurotoxicity.. The impact of minocycline pretreatment on colistin-induced apoptosis, caspase activation, oxidative stress and mitochondrial dysfunction were investigated using cultured mouse neuroblastoma-2a (N2a) and primary cortical neuronal cells.. Colistin-induced neurotoxicity in mouse N2a and primary cortical cells gives rise to the generation of reactive oxygen species (ROS) and subsequent cell death via apoptosis. Pretreatment of the neuronal cells with minocycline at 5, 10 and 20 μM for 2 h prior to colistin (200 μM) exposure (24 h), had an neuroprotective effect by significantly decreasing intracellular ROS production and by upregulating the activities of the anti-ROS enzymes superoxide dismutase and catalase. Minocycline pretreatment also protected the cells from colistin-induced mitochondrial dysfunction, caspase activation and subsequent apoptosis. Immunohistochemical imaging studies revealed colistin accumulates within the dendrite projections and cell body of primary cortical neuronal cells.. To our knowledge, this is first study demonstrating the protective effect of minocycline on colistin-induced neurotoxicity by scavenging of ROS and suppression of apoptosis. Our study highlights that co-administration of minocycline kills two birds with one stone: in addition to its synergistic antimicrobial activity, minocycline could potentially ameliorate unwanted neurotoxicity in patients undergoing polymyxin therapy.

Topics: Animals; Apoptosis; Caspases; Catalase; Cell Line, Tumor; Cells, Cultured; Cerebral Cortex; Colistin; Drug Synergism; Enzyme Activation; Mice; Minocycline; Mitochondria; Neuroblastoma; Neurons; Neuroprotective Agents; Oxidative Stress; Reactive Oxygen Species; Superoxide Dismutase

Neurotoxicity remains a poorly characterized adverse effect associated with colistin therapy. The aim of the present study was to investigate the mechanism of colistin-induced neurotoxicity using the mouse neuroblastoma2a (N2a) cell line. Colistin treatment (0-200 μM) of N2a neuronal cells induced apoptotic cell death in a dose-dependent manner. Colistin-induced neurotoxicity was associated with a significant increase of reactive oxygen species (ROS) levels, with a concomitant decrease in the activities of superoxide dismutase (SOD), catalase (CAT), and the glutathione (GSH) levels. Mitochondrial dysfunction was evident from the dissipation of membrane potential and the increase of Bax/Bcl-2, followed by the release of cytochrome c (CytC). Caspase-3/7, -8, and -9 activations were also detected. Colistin-induced neurotoxicity significantly increased the gene expression of p53 (1.6-fold), Bax (3.3-fold), and caspase-8 (2.2-fold) (all p < 0.01). The formation of autophagic vacuoles was evident with the significant increases (all p < 0.05 or 0.01) of both of Beclin 1 and LC3B following colistin treatment (50-200 μM). Furthermore, inhibition of autophagy by pretreatment with chloroquine diphosphate (CQ) enhanced colistin-induced apoptosis via caspase activation, which could be attenuated by co-treatment with the pan-caspase inhibitor Z-VAD-FMK. In summary, our study reveals that colistin-induced neuronal cell death involves ROS-mediated oxidative stress and mitochondrial dysfunction, followed by caspase-dependent apoptosis and autophagy. A knowledge base of the neuronal signaling pathways involved in colistin-induced neurotoxicity will greatly facilitate the discovery of neuroprotective agents for use in combination with colistin to prevent this undesirable side effect.

Topics: Animals; Apoptosis; Autophagy; Cell Line, Tumor; Colistin; Dose-Response Relationship, Drug; Mice; Mitochondria; Neuroblastoma; Oxidative Stress; Reactive Oxygen Species