Inhibition of Hydrogen Peroxide-induced PC12 Cell Apoptosis by Modafinil

AIM: To study the inhibition of hydrogen peroxide-induced PC12 cell apoptosis by modafinil and its mechanism. METHOD: PC12 cell survival was measured by MTT assay. The percentage of apoptosis was monitored with flow cytometry. By measuring the intracellular rhodamine123(Rh123)fluorescence density,we evaluated the change of PC12 cell mitochondrial membrane potential (mmp) induced by hydrogen peroxide. RESULT:Modafinil attenuated the cytotoxic effect of hydrogen peroxide (200 μmol/L),sodium nitoprusside (500 μmol/L) and sodium dithionite (2mmol/L). Hydrogen peroxide (200 μmol/L,24 h) induced apoptosis in PC12 cells.PC12 cells were preconditioned with modafinil, then the percentage of apoptosis in the cells was decreased significantly to 7.95%,15.46%,and 17.52% from 32.65%. Modafinil inhibited the mmp decrease in PC12 cells induced by hydrogen peroxide. CONCLUSION:Modafinil prevented PC12 cell from apoptosis induced by hydrogen peroxide,and the mechanism might be associated with its effect of increasing the mitochondrial membrane potential of PC12 cell.