The Roles of Nitric Oxide and Carbon Monoxide in the Survival of PC12 Cells

by Kuo, Chen-Hsiu

Recent studies suggest that carbon monoxide (CO) is another gas molecule that has similar biological actions as nitric oxide (NO). The purpose of this study is to investigate the relationship between NO and CO in the survival of naïve rat pheochromocytoma PC12 cells. Western blot analysis revealed that all three isoforms of nitric oxide synthase (NOS) exhibited low expression and two isoforms of heme oxygenase (HO), especially HO-1, exhibited higher expression in PC12 cells under basal condition. Exposure of PC12 cells for 24 h to the NO scavenger, carboxy-2-phenyl-4,4,5,5,- tetramethylimidazoline-1-oxy-1-3-oxide (carboxy-PTIO, 2 £gmol) or HO inhibitor, zinc protoporphyrinIX (ZnPP, 25 nmol) resulted in a progressive reduction in mitochondria dehydrogenase activity reflected cell viability as determined by the WST-1 (4-[3-(4-lodophenyl)- 2-(4-nitrophenyl)-2H-5-tetrazolio]-1,3-benzene disulfonate) assay. On the other hand, incubation with NO donors, amino-3-morpholinyl- 1,2,3-oxadiazolium chloride (SIN-1, 1 £gmol) or S-Nitroso-N-acetyl- penicillamine (SNAP, 1 £gmol), or the CO precursor, hematin (500 nmol), resulted in an elevation in cell viability. The progressive reduction in cell viability induced by carboxy-PTIO (2 £gmol) or ZnPP (25 nmol) was significantly blunted by co-treatment with SIN-1 (1 £gmol). However, incubation with the NO precursor, L-arginine (L-Arg, 2 £gmol), or the selective inhibitors for nNOS, iNOS or eNOS, N£s-propyl-L-arginine (NPLA, 100 pmol), S-methylisothiourea (SMT, 10 nmol) or N5-1-Iminoethyl-L-ornithine dihydrochloride (L-NIO, 4 nmol) did not significantly alter cell viability. Co-treatment with carboxy-PTIO (2 £gmol) and L-Arg (2 £gmol) was also ineffective. These results suggest that NO or CO contributes to the survival of naïve PC12 cells.