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Different pathways of apoptosis revealed by 2‐chloro‐adenosine and deoxy‐D‐ribose in mammalian astroglial cells
Author(s) -
Ceruti Stefania,
Barbieri Daniela,
Veronese Eliana,
Cattabeni Flaminio,
Cossarizza Andrea,
Giammarioli Anna Maria,
Malorni Walter,
Franceschi Claudio,
Abbracchio Maria P.
Publication year - 1997
Publication title -
journal of neuroscience research
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 1.72
H-Index - 160
eISSN - 1097-4547
pISSN - 0360-4012
DOI - 10.1002/(sici)1097-4547(19970215)47:4<372::aid-jnr2>3.0.co;2-b
Subject(s) - apoptosis , poly adp ribose polymerase , programmed cell death , adenosine , extracellular , mitochondrion , microbiology and biotechnology , intracellular , chemistry , biology , biochemistry , polymerase , enzyme
Both the adenosine analogue 2‐chloro‐adenosine (2‐CA) and the reducing sugar deoxy‐D‐ribose (dRib) induce apoptosis of astroglial cells in rat brain primary cultures (Abbracchio et al.: Biochem Biophys Res Commun 213:908–915, 1995). The present study was undertaken to elucidate by both morphological and cytofluorimetric analyses the intracellular mechanism(s) involved in induction of apoptosis by these two agents. The poly(ADP‐ribose)polymerase (PARP) inhibitor 3‐aminobenzamide did not prevent either 2‐CA‐ or dRib‐induced cell death, suggesting that activation of PARP is not critically important for induction of apoptosis in astrocytes. The radical scavenger N‐acetyl‐cysteine (NAC) strongly inhibited dRib‐ but not 2‐CA‐induced cell death, suggesting a differential role for radical formation in apoptosis by these two agents. A time‐dependent increase of cells with depolarized mitochondria was observed in dRib‐, and to a lesser extent, in 2‐CA‐treated cultures. NAC also prevented dRib‐ but not 2‐CA‐induced mitochondrial changes. We conclude that, in mammalian astrocytes, apoptosis can proceed through diverse and multiple pathways, depending upon the apoptotic stimulus. For dRib, apoptosis likely proceeds through generation of radicals and mitochondrial involvement. An adenosine extracellular receptor linked to an as yet unidentified signaling pathway may instead mediate 2‐CA‐induced cell death, which may have intriguing implications for both nervous system development and brain response to trauma and ischemia. J. Neurosci. Res. 47:372–383, 1997. © 1997 Wiley‐Liss, Inc.