Protective effects of brain-derived neurotrophic factor against neurotoxicity of 3-nitropropionic acid in rat cortical neurons

Brain-derived neurotrophic factor (BDNF) deficiency has been implicated in pathogenesis of Huntington's disease (HD). 3-Nitropropionic acid (3-NP), an irreversible mitochondrial complex II inhibitor, has been commonly used as a pharmacological model recapitulating HD phenotypes in rodents and nonhuman primates. Herein we test whether BDNF may exert neuroprotective effects against mitochondrial dysfunction caused by 3-NP in primary culture of fetal rat cortical neurons. Preconditioning of neuronal cells with BDNF (100 ng/ml for 8 h) attenuated 3-NP toxicity (2.5 mM for additional 24 h) based on Hoechst and propidium iodide (PI) staining. BDNF effects can be inhibited by the nitric oxide synthase (NOS) inhibitor l-nitroarginine methylester (l-NAME, 100 μM), the cGMP-dependent protein kinase (PKG) inhibitor KT5823 (2 μM), the thioredoxin reductase inhibitor 1-chloro-2,4-dinitrobenzene (DNCB, 5 μM), and a membrane-permeable Bcl-2 inhibitor (12.5 μM). 8-Br-cGMP is a cGMP analogue capable of activating PKG independent of NO. Exogenous application of 8-Br-cGMP (3-30 μM) and purified thioredoxin (3-5 μM) partially mimicked BDNF effects in conferring 3-NP resistance to cortical cells. These results, together with our previous report showing NO donor S-nitrosoglutathione (GSNO)-mediated neuroprotective effects against 3-NP toxicity, suggest that BDNF may protect neurons from mitochondrial dysfunction at least partly via activation of the signaling cascades involving NOS/NO, PKG, thioredoxin and Bcl-2.