Statements in which the resource exists as a subject.
PredicateObject
rdf:type
lifeskim:mentions
pubmed:issue
4
pubmed:dateCreated
1999-10-12
pubmed:abstractText
Our previous study has shown that tunicamycin irreversibly downregulates the expression of GABA(A)R and causes cell death in cultured brain neurons by biochemical and light microscopic methods. In this study, we examined mechanisms underlying the degeneration of the neurons mainly employing electron microscopic analysis. Cultured neurons derived from embryonic chicken brains were incubated with 5 microg/ml of tunicamycin (TM) for 24 h, followed by continual incubation or removal of TM for additional 3 h or 24 h. Neurons treated with TM for 24 h showed dilated rough endoplasmic reticulum (rER), nuclear envelope and components of Golgi apparatus, in addition to the degranulation of rER and disaggregation of ribosomal rosettes. In neurons subjected to the prolonged incubation, some ribosomes reattached to the membranes of rER; the polyribosomes reappeared, and the swelling of Golgi apparatus subsided. However, the distention of rER persisted, and an uncommon spindle-like structure appeared in the perikarya. This structure is implicated to involve the neuronal degeneration. Moreover, extracellular cell debris was increased with time of incubation. The ratio of the light neurons, defined as containing lower cytoplasmic matrix density than the untreated control, decreased from 28% at 3 h to 3% at 24 h after the removal of TM, and 45% at further 3 h to 6% at further 24 h incubation of TM, whereas dense neurons only appeared in the two 24 h groups, as 44% and 34%. The light neurons resemble necrotic cells, but the dense neurons exhibit distinct morphological features from necrosis and apoptosis. The gel electrophoresis assay revealed the absence of DNA fragmentation in all cultures. In addition, whole cell recordings exhibited a 40% decrease of the GABA-elicited current in the neurons exposed to TM for 24 h. The results indicate irreversible toxicity of chronic TM treatment to the neurons and suggest differential mechanisms for the neuronal death among various populations of cells. It is evident that the N-glycosylation plays a critical role for neuronal survival.
pubmed:language
eng
pubmed:journal
pubmed:citationSubset
IM
pubmed:chemical
pubmed:status
MEDLINE
pubmed:month
Sep
pubmed:issn
0730-2312
pubmed:author
pubmed:copyrightInfo
Copyright 1999 Wiley-Liss, Inc.
pubmed:issnType
Print
pubmed:day
15
pubmed:volume
74
pubmed:owner
NLM
pubmed:authorsComplete
Y
pubmed:pagination
638-47
pubmed:dateRevised
2006-11-15
pubmed:meshHeading
pubmed:year
1999
pubmed:articleTitle
Toxicity of tunicamycin to cultured brain neurons: ultrastructure of the degenerating neurons.
pubmed:affiliation
Department of Anatomy, College of Medicine, National Taiwan University, Taipei, Taiwan 100, Republic of China.
pubmed:publicationType
Journal Article, Research Support, Non-U.S. Gov't