Role of the Outward Delayed Rectifier K+ Current in Ceramide‐Induced Caspase Activation and Apoptosis in Cultured Cortical Neurons

• Published in: Journal of neurochemistry Vol. 73; no. 3; pp. 933 - 941
• Main Authors: Yu, Shan Ping, Yeh, Chen‐Hsiung, Gottron, Frank, Wang, Xin, Grabb, Margaret C., Choi, Dennis W.
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: Oxford UK Blackwell Science Ltd 01.09.1999; Blackwell
• Subjects: Ageing, cell death; Animals; Apoptosis - drug effects; Apoptosis - physiology; Biological and medical sciences; Calcium - physiology; Caspases - metabolism; Cell physiology; Cells, Cultured; Ceramide; Ceramides - pharmacology; Ceramides - physiology; Cerebral Cortex - cytology; Cerebral Cortex - drug effects; Cerebral Cortex - enzymology; Delayed Rectifier Potassium Channels; Enzyme Activation; Fundamental and applied biological sciences. Psychology; Membrane Potentials; Mice; Molecular and cellular biology; Neuronal apoptosis; Neurons - drug effects; Neurons - enzymology; Outward delayed rectifier Iκ channel; Patch-Clamp Techniques; Phosphorylation; Potassium Channel Blockers; Potassium Channels - metabolism; Potassium Channels, Voltage-Gated; Signal Transduction - physiology; Sphingomyelin Phosphodiesterase - metabolism; Tetraethylammonium - pharmacology; Tyrosine - metabolism; Tyrosine phosphorylation; Rodentia; Sphingolipid; Ionic current; Outward current; In vitro; Signal transduction; Vertebrata; Mammalia; Neuron; Mouse; Ceramide; Potassium; Apoptosis

: We studied the novel hypothesis that an upmodulation of channels for outward delayed rectifier K+ current (Iκ) plays a key role in ceramide‐induced neuronal apoptosis. Exposure for 6‐10 h to the membrane‐permeable C2‐ceramide (25 μM) or to sphingomyelinase (0.2 unit/ml), but not to the inactive ce...