Y. Akaneya et al., INVOLVEMENT OF FREE-RADICALS IN MPP(-NEURONS IN CULTURE() NEUROTOXICITY AGAINST RAT DOPAMINERGIC), Neuroscience letters, 193(1), 1995, pp. 53-56
To examine the mechanisms of the neurotoxicity of 1-methyl-4-phenylpyr
idinium (MPP(+)) against dopaminergic neurons, ventral mesencephalic c
ells from embryonic rats were cultured and exposed to MPP(+) with vari
ous antioxidants or glutamate receptor antagonists to investigate the
participation of free radicals and glutamate, respectively. Such antio
xidants as vitamin E, vitamin C, coenzyme Q(10), and catalase, but nei
ther allopurinol nor superoxide dismutase, alleviated the MPP(+)-induc
ed death of dopaminergic neurons, while glutamate receptor antagonists
did not alter MPP(+) neurotoxicity. These findings suggest the partic
ipation of free radicals, particularly hydroxyl radicals rather than s
uperoxides, in the process of dopaminergic neuronal death evoked by MP
P(+).