A body of evidence suggests that ethanol can lead to damage of neuronal cel s. However, the me-chanism underlying the ethanol-induced damage of neuronal cel s remains unclear. The role of mi-togen-activated protein kinases in ethanol-induced damage was investigated in SK-N-SH neurob-lastoma cel s. 3-[4,5-Dimethylthiazol-2-yl]-2,5-diphenyl tetrazolium bromide cel viability assay, DNA fragmentation detection, and flow cytometric analysis showed that ethanol induced apoptotic cel death and cel cycle arrest, characterized by increased caspase-3 activity, DNA fragmentation, nuclear disruption, and G 1 arrest of cel cycle of the SK-N-SH neuroblastoma cel s. In addition, western blot analysis indicated that ethanol induced a lasting increase in c-Jun N-terminal protein kinase activity and a transient increase in p38 kinase activity of the neuroblastoma cel s. c-Jun N-terminal protein kinase or p38 kinase inhibitors significantly reduced the ethanol-induced cel death. Ethanol also increased p53 phosphorylation, fol owed by an increase in p21 tumor sup-pressor protein and a decrease in phospho-Rb (retinoblastoma) protein, leading to alterations in the expressions and activity of cyclin dependent protein kinases. Our results suggest that ethanol me-diates apoptosis of SK-N-SH neuroblastoma cel s by activating p53-related cel cycle arrest possibly through activation of the c-Jun N-terminal protein kinase-related cel death pathway.

p44/p42 MAPK反义寡脱氧核苷酸对血管紧张素Ⅱ诱导的培养乳鼠心肌细胞肥大反应的抑制作用

AIM: To explore the inhibitory effect of antisense oligonucleotide (ODN) to mitogen activated protein kinase (MAPK) on cardiomyocyte hypertrophy induced by angiotensin Ⅱ (Ang Ⅱ). METHODS: A 17-mer phosphorothioateprotected antisense ODN directed against the initiation of translation sites of the p42 and p44 MAPK isoforms by liposomal transfection was applied to inhibit the translation of p44/p42 MAPK mRNA. The sense and random ODNs to p44/p42MAPK were used as sequence controls. Neonatal cardiac myocytes were exposed to Ang Ⅱ (10 nmol/L) for 5 min and then harvested in lysis buffer for the measurement of the activity and the phosphorylated protein content of p44/p42MAPK that were tested by P-81 phosphocellulose filter paper method and Western blotting, respectively. The rate of protein synthesis by [3H]leucine incorporation and the diameter of cell were measured after exposure to Ang Ⅱ for 24 h and 72 h, respectively. RESULTS: In cardiac myocyte Ang Ⅱ increased p44/p42MAPK activity and phosphorylated protein content by 140 % and 699 %, and also increased [3H]leucine incorporation and cell diameter by 40 % and 27 %. c-fos and c-myc mRNAs were induced significantly after exposure to Ang Ⅱ. Antisense ODN to p44/p42MAPK (0.2 μmol/L) reduced Ang Ⅱ-induced MAPK activity by 30 %,and phophorylated MAPK protein expression by 59 % in cardiac myocyte, and inhibited c-fos and c-myc mRNA expression induced by Ang Ⅱ by 44 % and 43 %, respectively. The diameter and the rate of protein synthesis of cardiac myocyte induced by Ang Ⅱ were decreased by 16 % and 22 % after pretreatment with antisense ODN to p44/p42MAPK. CONCLUSION: Antisense ODN to p44/p42 MAPK inhibited the increase of rate of protein synthesis,and the augmentation of cell diameter and expression of c-fos and c-nyc mRNA induced by Ang Ⅱ in cultured cardiac myocytes, p44/p42 MAPK played a critical role in the hypertrophic response induced by Ang Ⅱ in cultured neonatal rat cardiac myocytes.