海洛因诱导大脑神经元凋亡的研究

目的观察海洛因有无直接诱导培养大脑神经元凋亡的作用。方法神经元培养取自SD大鼠妊娠的胎鼠大脑皮质,培养7d后分别用不同浓度的海洛因(纯度80%)处理大脑神经元24h。用FDA法分析细胞存活率,Hoechst 33258荧光染色后观察凋亡的形态学改变,再用DNA琼脂糖凝胶电泳分析凋亡的生化特征。结果海洛因可剂量依赖性地降低神经元的存活率;荧光显微镜可见细胞核染为高亮蓝色的典型凋亡小体,其细胞核明显固缩、凝聚和断裂,且随海洛因剂量的增加,出现凋亡小体的细胞明显增多;不同浓度的海洛因处理大脑神经元,电泳图谱显示清晰的DNA梯带。结论海洛因可直接诱导大鼠大脑皮质神经元凋亡。

Apoptosis of cultured cortical neurons of rat's brain induced by heroin

OBJECTIVE: To investigate whether heroin can directly induce apoptosis in primary cultured cortical neurons of rat's brain. METHODS: Cultured primary neurons cultures were obtained from cerebral cortex of embryo rats. After 7 days, the cells were incubated with different concentrations of heroin (purity-80%) for 24 hours. The neuronal survival was assessed by cell viability counting with fluorescent diacetate (FDA) staining. The morphological and biochemical changes were observed with Hoechst 33258 fluorescent staining and then analyzed by agarose gel electrophoresis, respectively. RESULTS: After treatment with different concentrations of heroin, the neurons showed a decreased survival rate in a dose dependent manner, and there was a significant difference in the survival rate between the heroin group and the control group (P < 0.05). When exposed to different concentrations of heroin, neurons exhibited the morphological and biochemical features of apoptosis, including cell shrinkage, neurite degeneration, network disappearance, condensation and aggregation of nuclear chromatin, and the formation of DNA ladders. With the increase of heroin concentration of rat's brain more apoptotic bodies were seen. CONCLUSION: Heroin can directly induce apoptosis in primary cultured cortical neurons in rat's brain.