Objective: To investigate the protective effect of nimodipine on the apoptosis of PC12 cells induced by hydrogen peroxide (H2O2).
Methods: PC12 cells were randomly divided into normal group, model group (200 μmol/L H2O2), and nimodipine low, medium and high concentration groups (1, 10, 100 μmol/L nimodipine + 200 μmol/L H2O2). MTT method was used to detect cell viability in each group, Hoechst staining was used to detect cell apoptosis in each group, and colorimetric method was used to detect aspartate proteolytic enzyme (caspase 3), caspase 9 and superoxide dismutase (SOD) activities and malondialdehyde ( MDA) content, and western blot analysis of B-lymphoma-2 (Bcl-2), Bcl-2-related X protein (Bax) and p53 protein.
Results: Compared with the normal group, in the model group, the cell viability decreased, the apoptosis rate increased, the caspase 3 and caspase 9 increased, the SOD activity decreased, the MDA content decreased, the Bcl-2 expression decreased, and the Bax and p53 expressions increased. There were statistical significance (P<0.01); compared with the model group, the nimodipine low, medium and high concentration groups increased the cell viability, decreased the apoptosis rate, decreased the activities of caspase 3 and caspase 9, increased the activity of SOD, and increased the content of MDA. increased, the expression of Bcl-2 protein increased, and the expression of Bax and p53 decreased, and the differences were statistically significant (P<0.01).
Conclusion: Nimodipine can inhibit H2O2-induced apoptosis of PC12 cells by regulating the expression of apoptosis-related proteins.