Inhibition of Bcl-xL prevents pro-death actions of ΔN-Bcl-xL at the mitochondrial inner membrane during glutamate excitotoxicity.

ABSTRACT: ABT-737 is a pharmacological inhibitor of the anti-apoptotic activity of B-cell lymphoma-extra large (Bcl-xL) protein; it promotes apoptosis of cancer cells by occupying the BH3-binding pocket. We have shown previously that ABT-737 lowers cell metabolic efficiency by inhibiting ATP synthase activity. However, we also found that ABT-737 protects rodent brain from ischemic injury in vivo by inhibiting formation of the pro-apoptotic, cleaved form of Bcl-xL, ΔN-Bcl-xL. We now report that a high concentration of ABT-737 (1 μM), or a more selective Bcl-xL inhibitor WEHI-539 (5 μM) enhances glutamate-induced neurotoxicity while a low concentration of ABT-737 (10 nM) or WEHI-539 (10 nM) is neuroprotective. High ABT-737 markedly increased ΔN-Bcl-xL formation, aggravated glutamate-induced death and

SUBMITTER: Park HA 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC5635221 | biostudies-literature | 2017 Nov

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature