J Korean Soc Biol Psychiatry.  1998 Nov;5(2):219-226.

Cytosine Arabinoside-Induced PC12 Cell Death Pathway

• Yang BG
• Chai YG
• Yang BH

Abstract

Cytosine arabinoside(AraC) inhibits DNA synthesis and beta-DNA polymerase, an enzyme involved in DNA repair. This a potent antimitotic agent, is clinically used as an anticancer drug with side effect of severe neurotoxicity. Earlier reports suggested that inhibition of neuronal survival by AraC in sympathetic neuron may be due to the inhibition of a 2'-deoxycytidine-dependent process that is independent of DNA synthesis or repair and AraC induced a signal that is triggers a cascade of new mRNA and protein synthesis, leading to apoptotic cell death in cultured cerebellar granule cells. The present study would suggest whether caspase family(ICE/CED-3-like protease) involved in AraC-induced apoptosis pathway of PC12 cells. It was observed that treatment of PC12 cells with AraC led to decrease of viability by MTT assay and morphology changes, which did not suggest that AraC induced apoptosis in PC12 cells. The mRNA of caspase-1/caspase-3 were expressed in PC12 cells constitutively, and AraC did not activate caspase family. These results suggest that caspase-1/caspase-3 may not be required for AraC-induced cell death pathway in PC12 cells.

MeSH Terms

Animals
Apoptosis
Cell Death
Cytosine*
DNA
DNA Repair
Humans
Neurons
PC12 Cells*
RNA, Messenger
Cytosine
DNA
RNA, Messenger