Jpn. J. Pharmacol. 72, 299-306 (1996)


Menadione Toxicity in Cultured Rat Cortical Astrocytes

Kazuho Abe and Hiroshi Saito

Department of Chemical Pharmacology, Faculty of Pharmaceutical Sciences, The University of Tokyo, Tokyo 113, Japan

Abstract: We examined the effect of menadione on the morphology and viability of cultured astrocytes. Exposure of astrocytes to menadione induced a progressive cell death. The toxic effect of menadione was
concentration- and time-dependent. Menadione toxicity was blocked by antioxidants, superoxide dismutase, catalase and iron chelators, indicating that superoxide anions (O2-), hydrogen peroxide (H2O2) and hydroxyl radicals (ÅEOH) are all involved in menadione toxicity. Menadione cytotoxicity should be useful as a model for studying the mechanisms underlying oxidative injury in the brain and for the screening of drugs that may attenuate cell damage caused by oxidative stress.

Keywords: Menadione, Toxicity, Reactive oxygen species, Astrocyte, Culture

Copyright© The Japanese Pharmacological Society 1996

[Back to TOC]