PREVENTIVE EFFECT OF GINKGO-BILOBA EXTRACT ON APOPTOSIS IN RAT CEREBELLAR NEURONAL CELLS INDUCED BY HYDROXYL RADICALS

The ability of oxidative stress to induce apoptosis, and the effect of Ginkgo biloba extract (EGb761) on this induction were studied in prim ary cultured rat cerebellar neuronal cells. Cells were exposed to hydr oxyl radicals by treating them with 20-50 mu M hydrogen peroxide (H2O2 ) and 100 mu M ferrous sulfate. Hydroxyl radical treatment fragmented the DNA in a manner typical of apoptosis cells, producing a ladder pat tern of 200 base pair increments on 1% agarose gel electrophoresis. Pr etreatment of cells with 100 mu g/ml EGb reduced hydroxyl radical indu ced cells apoptosis (determined by flow cytometry) and DNA fragmentati on. The results indicate that hydroxyl radicals induce apoptosis in ra t cerebellar neuronal cells, and this induction can be prevented by EG b.