Experimental study of the toxicity of manganese to PC12 cells

Objective To study the toxicity of different doses of manganese chloride(MnCl_2) on rat pheochromocytoma PC12 cells in vitro.Methods PC12 cell cultures were exposed to MnCl_2 within a dose range of 100-900 μmol/L.The inhibition of the cells during 7 days was determined by MTT assay,the apoptotic cells were monitored by TUNEL stain.The alpha-synuclein were determined by western blot.Results MnCl_2 at different concentrations(100,300,500,700,900 μmol/L) could inhibit the growth and proliferation of PC12 cells in a dose and timedependent manner and the cell growth curve was changed accordingly.After the treatment of 300,500 μmol/L MnCl_2,TUNEL-positive cells were also increased(P0.05).Westernblot showed that MnCl_2 increased the alpha-synuclein in a dose-dependent manner(P0.05).Conclusion MnCl_2 can significantly inhibit the growth and proliferation of PC12 cells,possibly by inducing apoptosis,and the increase of alpha-synuclein.