Inhibitory effect of quercetin on apoptosis of PC12 cells induced by rotenone

AIM:To observe the effects and mechanisms of quercetin on the apoptosis of PC12 cells induced by rotenone.METHODS:PC12 cells were used in the study.Quercetin at the concentration of 300 μmol/L was added into the PC12 cells cultured in DMEM-F12 medium with 10% fetal calf serum.The morphological changes of the cells were observed under fluorescence microscope.The apoptotic rate was determined by flow cytometry assay.The protein levels of Bax and Bcl-2 were determined by Western blotting,and the mitochondrial membrane potential was measured by ratiometric probe JC-1.RESULTS:In the cells treated with rotenone+quercetin,the morphology of the cells was significantly improved,and the apoptotic rate was decreased to 6.7%,significantly lower than that in the cells treated with rotenone alone(P0.01).The expression of Bcl-2 was up-regulated and Bax was down-regulated in rotenone+quercetin group(P0.01),while the mitochondrial membrane potential was also increased(P0.01) as compared to those in rotenone group.CONCLUSION:Pretreatment of quercetin inhibits the development of apoptosis in PC12 cells induced by rotenone.One of the mechanisms may be correlated with up-regulating the expression of Bcl-2 and down-regulating the expression of Bax,thus maintaining mitochondrial membrane potential.