Effect of acetyl-L-carnitine preconditioning on PC12 cell apoptosis induced by oxygen-glucose deprivation

Objective To investigate the effect of acetyl-L-carnitine (ALC) preconditioning on the PC12 cell apoptosis induced by oxygen-glucose deprivation.Methods PC12 cells were seeded in 96-well plates and randomly divided into 5 groups ( n =6 each):control group (group C),cell injury group (group Ⅰ) and preconditioning with different concentrations of ALC groups (groups A1-3 ).In group C,the cells were incubated with DMEM liquid culture medium containing glucose 0.5 g/L for 3 h.In groups Ⅰ and A1-3 the cells were incubated with DMEM liquid culture medium containing sodium hydrosulfite (Na2S2O4) 3 mmol/L and glucose 0.5 g/L for 3 h,and in addition the cells were pre-incubated with ALC 0.2,0.4 and 0.6 mmol/L for 24 h in groups A1-3 respectively.Cell viability was evaluated by MTF assay,while the apoptosis in cells was detected using TUNEL.The activities of ATPase and SOD and MDA content were also detected.Results Oxygen-glucose deprivation significantly increased the number of apoptotic cells and the content of MDA,and decreased the cell viability and activities of SOD and ATPase in group Ⅰ compared with group C ( P ＜ 0.05).Preconditioning with ALC significantly increased the cell viability and the activities of SOD and ATPaes,and decreased the number of apoptotic cells and the content of MDA in groups A1-3 compared with group Ⅰ ( P ＜ 0.05).Conclusion ALC preconditioning can attenuate PC12 cell injury induced by oxygen-glucose deprivation through inhibition of apoptosis in cells. Key words: Acetylcamitine;  Ischemic preconditioning;  Cell hypoxia;  Glucose;  Apoptosis