Astaxanthin Protects Primary Hippocampal Neurons against Noxious Effects of Aß-Oligomers.

Increased reactive oxygen species (ROS) generation and the ensuing oxidative stress contribute to Alzheimer's disease pathology. We reported previously that amyloid-ß peptide oligomers (AßOs) produce aberrant Ca(2+) signals at sublethal concentrations and decrease the expression of type-2 ryanodine receptors (RyR2), which are crucial for hippocampal synaptic plasticity and memory. Here, we investigated whether the antioxidant agent astaxanthin (ATX) protects neurons from AßOs-induced excessive mitochondrial ROS generation, NFATc4 activation, and RyR2 mRNA downregulation. To determine mitochondrial H2O2 production or NFATc4 nuclear translocation, neurons were transfected with plasmids coding for HyperMito or NFATc4-eGFP, respectively. Primary hippocampal cultures were incubated with 0.1 µM ATX for 1.5 h prior to AßOs addition (500 nM). We found that incubation with ATX (≤10 µM) for ≤24 h was nontoxic to neurons, evaluated by the live/dead assay. Preincubation with 0.1 µM ATX also prevented the neuronal mitochondrial H2O2 generation induced within minutes of AßOs addition. Longer exposures to AßOs (6 h) promoted NFATc4-eGFP nuclear translocation and decreased RyR2 mRNA levels, evaluated by detection of the eGFP-tagged fluorescent plasmid and qPCR, respectively. Preincubation with 0.1 µM ATX prevented both effects. These results indicate that ATX protects neurons from the noxious effects of AßOs on mitochondrial ROS production, NFATc4 activation, and RyR2 gene expression downregulation.

Ryanodine receptor-mediated Ca(2+) release underlies iron-induced mitochondrial fission and stimulates mitochondrial Ca(2+) uptake in primary hippocampal neurons.

Mounting evidence indicates that iron accumulation impairs brain function. We have reported previously that addition of sub-lethal concentrations of iron to primary hippocampal neurons produces Ca(2) (+) signals and promotes cytoplasmic generation of reactive oxygen species. These Ca(2) (+) signals, which emerge within seconds after iron addition, arise mostly from Ca(2) (+) release through the redox-sensitive ryanodine receptor (RyR) channels present in the endoplasmic reticulum. We have reported also that addition of synaptotoxic amyloid-ß oligomers to primary hippocampal neurons stimulates RyR-mediated Ca(2) (+) release, generating long-lasting Ca(2) (+) signals that activate Ca(2) (+)-sensitive cellular effectors and promote the disruption of the mitochondrial network. Here, we describe that 24 h incubation of primary hippocampal neurons with iron enhanced agonist-induced RyR-mediated Ca(2) (+) release and promoted mitochondrial network fragmentation in 43% of neurons, a response significantly prevented by RyR inhibition and by the antioxidant agent N-acetyl-L-cysteine. Stimulation of RyR-mediated Ca(2) (+) release by a RyR agonist promoted mitochondrial Ca(2) (+) uptake in control neurons and in iron-treated neurons that displayed non-fragmented mitochondria, but not in neurons with fragmented mitochondria. Yet, the global cytoplasmic Ca(2) (+) increase induced by the Ca(2) (+) ionophore ionomycin prompted significant mitochondrial Ca(2) (+) uptake in neurons with fragmented mitochondria, indicating that fragmentation did not prevent mitochondrial Ca(2) (+) uptake but presumably decreased the functional coupling between RyR-mediated Ca(2) (+) release and the mitochondrial Ca(2) (+) uniporter. Taken together, our results indicate that stimulation of redox-sensitive RyR-mediated Ca(2) (+) release by iron causes significant neuronal mitochondrial fragmentation, which presumably contributes to the impairment of neuronal function produced by iron accumulation.