BACKGROUND: 3-Nitroporpionic acid (3-NP) is an irreVersible inhibitor of succinate dehydrogenase in mitochondria and can induce apoptosis-like cell death in the striatum. It has been reported that oxidative stress plays a role in the 3-NP induced neuronal damage. 3-NP induced striatal damage is implicated in the pathogenesis of several neurological diseases, such as chronic neurodegenerative diseases and stroke. The DNA repair enzyme, apurinic/apyrimidinic endonuclease (APE), is a multifunctional protein in the DNA base excision repair (BER) pathway. To clarify the relationship between APE and neuronal cell death associated with the apoptosis in the striatum was induced by 3-NP in vivo. METHODS: After intra-striatal injection of 3-NP, expression of the APE protein and mRNA were evaluated by Western blot, immunohistochemistry, RT-PCR and DNA fragmentation patterns. Oxidative DNA damage was investigated by detection of oxidized DNA, AP site and superoxide. RESULTS: Expression levels of APE was rapidly reduced as early as 1hr after injection of 3-NP. DNA fragmentation was observed 24 hours after 3-NP treatment but not 4 hours. APE gene expression was increased to 1hr after 3-NP treatment. The number of AP sites were reduced and the reduction of APE proteins were blocked by a superoxide scavenger, MnTBAP-treatment. CONCLUSIONS: These results suggest that the reduction of APE is the preceding event of DNA fragmentation that causes apoptosis and a decrease of APE may be induced by ROS after 3-NP treatment.
Animals ; Apoptosis* ; Blotting, Western ; Cell Death ; DNA ; DNA Damage ; DNA Fragmentation ; DNA Repair ; Gene Expression ; Hominidae ; Humans ; Immunohistochemistry ; Mice* ; Mitochondria ; Neurodegenerative Diseases ; Neurons* ; Oxidative Stress ; Reactive Oxygen Species ; RNA, Messenger ; Stroke ; Succinate Dehydrogenase ; Superoxides

PURPOSE: The DNA repair enzyme, apurinic/apyrimidinic endonuclease (APE) plays a role in base excision repair pathway involved in repairing apurinic/apyrimidinic (AP) site after oxidative stress. To reveal the relationship between APE and neuronal apoptosis associated with oxidative stress after kainate treatment, the temporal change of APE expression was investigated in kainate-induced seizure model. METHODS: Status epilepticus was induced by unilateral intrahippocampal injection of kainate. Superoxide anion radical production and DNA oxidation were evaluated by in situ detection of oxidized hydroethidine and 8-hydroxyguanine (8-OHG) immunore activity. APE expression was examined by Western blot and immunohistochemical analysis. DNA fragmentation was visualized with terminal deoxynucleotidyl transferase-mediated uridine 5'-triphosphate-biotin nick end labeling (TUNEL) staining. RESULTS: Cell loss occurred at 24 hr in CA1, CA2, and CA3 after kainate-injection. 8-OHG immunoreactivity and oxidized hydroethidine were increased comparing with control after kainate-injection. APE immunoreactivity was decreased 4 and 24 hours in the hippocampus after kainate-injection. TUNEL-positive cells were observed 24 hours but not 4 hours in hippocampus after kainate-injection. In double labeling with APE and TUNEL, TUNEL-positive cells did not show APE immunoreactivity. These data showed that cellular oxidative stress was increased, thereby APE was decreased in the hippocampus after kainate-injection. Also, it was shown that the reduction of APE preceded DNA fragmentation. CONCLUSION: This study suggests that rapid loss of APE may produce the failure of DNA repair-machinary and then induce neuronal apoptosis following kainate-injection.
Apoptosis* ; Blotting, Western ; DNA ; DNA Fragmentation ; DNA Repair ; Epilepsy ; Hippocampus ; Hominidae ; Humans ; In Situ Nick-End Labeling ; Kainic Acid ; Neurons ; Oxidative Stress ; Seizures* ; Status Epilepticus ; Superoxides ; Uridine