Detoxified Extract of Rhus verniciflua Stokes Inhibits Rotenone-Induced Apoptosis in Human Dopaminergic Cells, SH-SY5Y

• Published in: Cellular and molecular neurobiology Vol. 31; no. 2; pp. 213 - 223
• Main Authors: Sapkota, Kumar, Kim, Seung, Park, Se-Eun, Kim, Sung-Jun
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: Boston Boston : Springer US 01.03.2011; Springer US
• Subjects: apoptosis; Apoptosis - drug effects; bcl-2-Associated X Protein - metabolism; Biomedical and Life Sciences; Biomedicine; Caspase 3 - metabolism; Caspase 9 - metabolism; Cell Biology; Cell Line; Dopamine - metabolism; Dopaminergic cell; Enzyme Activation - drug effects; Humans; Membrane Potential, Mitochondrial - drug effects; Nerve Growth Factors - metabolism; Neurobiology; Neurosciences; Original Research; Oxidative Stress - drug effects; Parkinson disease; Plant Extracts - pharmacology; Reactive Oxygen Species - metabolism; Rhus; Rhus - chemistry; Rhus verniciflua Stokes; rotenone; Rotenone - toxicity; Tyrosine 3-Monooxygenase - metabolism; Parkinson disease; Dopaminergic cell; Stokes; Apoptosis; Rotenone
• ISSN: 0272-4340; 1573-6830; 1573-6830
• DOI: 10.1007/s10571-010-9609-6

Rhus verniciflua Stokes (RVS), traditionally used as a food supplement and in traditional herbal medicine for centuries in Korea, is known to possess various pharmacological properties. Environmental neurotoxins such as rotenone, a specific inhibitor of complex I provide models of Parkinson's disease (PD) both in vivo and in vitro. In this study, we investigated the neuroprotective effect of RVS against rotenone-induced toxicity in human dopaminergic cells, SH-SY5Y. Cells exposed to rotenone for 24 h-induced cellular injury and apoptotic cell death. Pretreatment of cells with RVS provided significant protection to SH-SY5Y cells. Further, RVS offered remarkable protection against rotenone-induced oxidative stress and markedly inhibited mitochondrial membrane potential (MMP) disruption. RVS also attenuated the up-regulation of Bax, Caspase-9 and Caspase-3 and down-regulation of Bcl-2. Moreover, pretreatment with RVS prevented the decrease in tyrosine hydroxylase (TH) levels in SH-SY5Y cells. Interestingly, RVS conferred profound protection to human dopaminergic cells by preventing the downregulation of brain-derived neurotrophic factor (BDNF) and glial cell line-derived neurotrophic factor (GDNF). These results suggest that RVS may protect dopaminergic neurons against rotenone-induced apoptosis by multiple functions and contribute to neuroprotection in neurodegenerative diseases, such as PD.