Increasing evidence suggests that low to mod- erate ethanol ingestion protects against the deleterious effects of subsequent ischemia/reperfusion; however, the underlying mechanism has not been elucidated. In the pres...Increasing evidence suggests that low to mod- erate ethanol ingestion protects against the deleterious effects of subsequent ischemia/reperfusion; however, the underlying mechanism has not been elucidated. In the present study, we showed that expression of the neuronal large-conductance, Ca2＋-activated K＋ channel （BKca） α- subunit was upregulated in cultured neurons exposed to oxygen-glucose deprivation/reoxygenation （OGD/R） compared with controls. Preconditioning with low-dose ethanol （10 mmol/L） increased cell survival rate in neurons subjected to OGD/R, attenuated the OGD/R-induced elevation of cytosolic Ca2＋ levels, and reduced the number of apoptotic neurons. Western blots revealed that ethanol preconditioning upregulated expression of the anti-apoptotic protein Bcl-2 and downregulated the pro-apoptotic protein Bax. The protective effect of ethanol precondi- tioning was antagonized by a BKα channel inhibitor, paxilline. Inside-out patches in primary neurons also demonstrated the direct activation of the BKCa channel by 10 mmol/L ethanol. The above results indicated that low- dose ethanol preconditioning exerts its neuroprotective effects by attenuating the elevation of cytosolic Ca2＋ and preventing neuronal apoptosis, and this is mediated by BKca channel activation.展开更多
基金supported by the National Natural Science Foundation of China(81171097 and 81271312)the Beijing Key Laboratory of Translational Medicine for Cerebrovascular Disease,China(TMCD201502)
文摘Increasing evidence suggests that low to mod- erate ethanol ingestion protects against the deleterious effects of subsequent ischemia/reperfusion; however, the underlying mechanism has not been elucidated. In the present study, we showed that expression of the neuronal large-conductance, Ca2＋-activated K＋ channel （BKca） α- subunit was upregulated in cultured neurons exposed to oxygen-glucose deprivation/reoxygenation （OGD/R） compared with controls. Preconditioning with low-dose ethanol （10 mmol/L） increased cell survival rate in neurons subjected to OGD/R, attenuated the OGD/R-induced elevation of cytosolic Ca2＋ levels, and reduced the number of apoptotic neurons. Western blots revealed that ethanol preconditioning upregulated expression of the anti-apoptotic protein Bcl-2 and downregulated the pro-apoptotic protein Bax. The protective effect of ethanol precondi- tioning was antagonized by a BKα channel inhibitor, paxilline. Inside-out patches in primary neurons also demonstrated the direct activation of the BKCa channel by 10 mmol/L ethanol. The above results indicated that low- dose ethanol preconditioning exerts its neuroprotective effects by attenuating the elevation of cytosolic Ca2＋ and preventing neuronal apoptosis, and this is mediated by BKca channel activation.
