Effect of the disequilibrium of calcium homeostasis on the apoptosis of rat's primary cultured cerebral cortical neurons induced by cadmium

To investigate the effect of the disequilibrium of calcium homeostasis on the apoptosis of rat's primary cultured cerebral cortical neurons induced by cadmium,the neurons were exposured to different concentrations of cadmium acetate(0,5,10 and 20 μmol/L),in the absence or the presence of 10 μmol/L BAPTA-AM for 12 hours.Then,the apoptosis rates,intracellular i,and reactive oxygen species(ROS),mitochondrial membrane potential(ΔΨm) were detected by flow cytometry.In comparison with the control group,the apoptosis rate,intracellulari and ROS level increased significantly(P0.05 or P0.01),ΔΨm decreased significantly(P0.05 or P0.01)in the cadmium groups.Compared to the poisoning groups,the apoptosis rate,intracelluari,ROS level decreased and ΔΨm increased in the presence of BAPTA-AM groups,there was significant difference between partial groups(P0.05 or P0.01).It was concluded that cadmium can promote the apoptosis of neurons,the disequilibrium of calcium homeostasis played a vital role in the cadmium-induced apoptosis of cortical neurons and the increasing of ROS level and decreasing of ΔΨm induced by calcium overloading,may participate in the apoptosis.