Alcohol enhances Aβ42-induced neuronal cell death through mitochondrial dysfunction

Lee, Do Yeon; Lee, Kyu-Sun; Lee, Hyun Jung; Jung, Hee-Yeon; Lee, Jun Young; Lee, Sang Hyung; Youn, Young Chul; Seo, Kyung Mook; Lee, Jang Han; Lee, Won Bok; Kim, Sung Su

doi:10.1016/j.febslet.2008.11.007

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Volume 582, Issue 30 , Pages 4185-4190, 24 December 2008

Alcohol enhances Aβ42-induced neuronal cell death through mitochondrial dysfunction

Edited by Jesus Avila

Do Yeon Lee
- Department of Anatomy and Cell biology, College of Medicine, Chung-Ang University, Seoul 156-756, Republic of Korea
- Department of Herbal Resources Research, Korea Institute of Oriental Medicine, Daejeon 305-811, Republic of Korea
- These authors contributed equally to this work.
Kyu-Sun Lee
- Center for Regenerative Medicine, Korea Research Institute of Bioscience and Biotechnology (KRIBB), Daejeon 305-806, Republic of Korea
- These authors contributed equally to this work.
Hyun Jung Lee
- Department of Anatomy and Cell biology, College of Medicine, Chung-Ang University, Seoul 156-756, Republic of Korea
Hee-Yeon Jung
- Department of Psychiatry, College of Medicine, Seoul National University, Seoul 151-742, Republic of Korea
Jun Young Lee
- Department of Psychiatry, College of Medicine, Seoul National University, Seoul 151-742, Republic of Korea
Sang Hyung Lee
- Department of Neurosurgery, College of Medicine, Seoul National University, Seoul 151-742, Republic of Korea
Young Chul Youn
- Department of Neurology, College of Liberal Arts, Chung-Ang University, Seoul 156-756, Republic of Korea
Kyung Mook Seo
- Department of Rehabilitation medicine, College of Medicine, Chung-Ang University, Seoul 156-756, Republic of Korea
Jang Han Lee
- Department of Psychology, College of Liberal Arts, Chung-Ang University, Seoul 156-756, Republic of Korea
Won Bok Lee
- Department of Anatomy and Cell biology, College of Medicine, Chung-Ang University, Seoul 156-756, Republic of Korea
Sung Su Kim
- Department of Anatomy and Cell biology, College of Medicine, Chung-Ang University, Seoul 156-756, Republic of Korea
- Corresponding author. Fax: +82 2 826 1265.

Received 5 October 2008; received in revised form 2 November 2008; accepted 7 November 2008. published online 19 November 2008.

Abstract

Mitochondrial dysfunction is a hallmark of beta-amyloid (Aβ)-induced neuronal toxicity in Alzheimer’s disease (AD). Epidemiological studies have indicated that alcohol consumption plays a role in the development of AD. Here we show that alcohol exposure has a synergistic effect on Aβ-induced neuronal cell death. Aβ-treated cultured neurons displayed spontaneous generation of reactive oxygen species (ROS), disruption of their mitochondrial membrane potential, induction of caspase-3 and p53 activities, and loss of cell viability. Alcohol exposure facilitated Aβ-induced neuronal cell death. Our study shows that alcohol consumption enhances Aβ-induced neuronal cell death by increasing ROS and mitochondrial dysfunction.

Keywords: Alzheimer’s disease, Aβ, Ethanol, Mitochondria, ROS