Chromaffin cells as a model to evaluate mechanisms of cell death and neuroprotective compounds.

In this review, we show how chromaffin cells have contributed to evaluate neuroprotective compounds with diverse mechanisms of action. Chromaffin cells are considered paraneurons, as they share many common features with neurons: (i) they synthesize, store, and release neurotransmitters upon stimulation and (ii) they express voltage-dependent calcium, sodium, and potassium channels, in addition to a wide variety of receptors. All these characteristics, together with the fact that primary cultures from bovine adrenal glands or chromaffin cells from the tumor pheochromocytoma cell line PC12 are easy to culture, make them an ideal model to study neurotoxic mechanisms and neuroprotective drugs. In the first part of this review, we will analyze the different cytotoxicity models related to calcium dyshomeostasis and neurodegenerative disorders like Alzheimer's or Parkinson's. Along the second part of the review, we describe how different classes of drugs have been evaluated in chromaffin cells to determine their neuroprotective profile in different neurodegenerative-related models.

Neuroprotective Effect of the Novel Compound ITH33/IQM9.21 Against Oxidative Stress and Na(+) and Ca(2+) Overload in Motor Neuron-like NSC-34 Cells.

Alternatives for the treatment of amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS) are scarce and controversial. The etiology of neuronal vulnerability in ALS is being studied in motor neuron-like NSC-34 cells to determine the underlying mechanisms leading to selective loss of motor neurons. One such mechanism is associated with mitochondrial oxidative stress, Ca(2+) overload, and low expression of Ca(2+)-buffering proteins. Therefore, in order to elicit neuronal death in ALS, NSC-34 cells were exposed to the following cytotoxic agents: (1) a mixture of oligomycin 10 µM and rotenone 30 µM (O/R), or (2) phenylarsine oxide 1 µM (PAO) (to mimic excess free radical production during mitochondrial dysfunction), and (3) veratridine 100 µM (VTD) (to induce overload of Na(+) and Ca(2+) and to alter distribution of Ca(2+)-buffering proteins [parvalbumin and calbindin-D28k]). Thus, the aim of the study was to test the novel neuroprotective compound ITH33/IQM9.21 (ITH33) and to compare it with riluzole on in vitro models of neurotoxicity. Cell viability measured with MTT showed that only ITH33 protected against O/R at 3 µM and PAO at 10 µM, but not riluzole. ITH33 and riluzole were neuroprotective against VTD, blocked the maximum peak and the number of [Ca(2+)]c oscillations per cell, and restored the effect on parvalbumin. However, only riluzole reversed the effect on calbindin-D28k levels. Therefore, ITH33 was neuroprotective against oxidative stress and Na(+)/Ca(2+) overload, both of which are involved in ALS.

Benzothiazepine CGP37157 Analogues Exert Cytoprotection in Various in Vitro Models of Neurodegeneration.

Mitochondria regulate cellular Ca(2+) oscillations, taking up Ca(2+) through its uniporter and releasing it through the mitochondrial sodium/calcium exchanger. The role of mitochondria in the regulation of Ca(2+) cycle has received much attention recently, as it is a central stage in neuronal survival and death processes. Over the last decades, the 4,1-benzothiazepine CGP37157 has been the only available blocker of the mitochondrial sodium/calcium exchanger, although it targets several other calcium transporters. We report the synthesis of 4,1-benzothiazepine derivatives with the goal of enhancing mitochondrial sodium/calcium exchanger blockade and selectivity, and the evaluation of their cytoprotective effect. The compound 4c presented an interesting neuroprotective profile in addition to an important blockade of the mitochondrial sodium/calcium exchanger. The use of this benzothiazepine could help to understand the physiological functions of the mitochondrial sodium/calcium exchanger. In addition, we hypothesize that a moderate blockade of the mitochondrial sodium/calcium exchanger would provide enhanced neuroprotection in neurons.