Apoptosis mechanism of rat′s primary cultured cerebral cortical neurons induced by cadmium and protective effect of N-acetyl cysteine

To investigate the mechanisms of apoptosis induced by cadmium and protective effect of N-acctyl cysteine(NAC) on primary cerebral cortical neurons of neonatal SD rats,the neurons were exposured to cadmium at different concentrations(0,5,10,20 μmol/L) and NAC(100 μmol/L).Then,the apoptosis rates,intracelluar Ca2+ concentration i and reactive oxygen species(ROS) were detected by flow cytometry.In comparison with the control group,the results showed that the apoptosis rate,intracelluar Ca2+ concentration i and ROS level (apart from 5 μmol/L group) were increased significantly(P0.01),with the dose-effect relationship.Compared to the poisoning groups,apoptosis rate in the NAC protective groups was decreased without significant difference(P0.05),Ca2+ concentration and ROS level of 10 and 20 μmol/L group decreased significantly(P0.05 or P0.01).It was concluded that cadmium can promote the apoptosis of neuron,intracellular Ca2+ and ROS may participate in this process,NAC has some effective protection against cadmium.