Ascorbic acid induces Ca2+-dependent necrosis mediated by reactive oxygen species in colorectal cancer cells

OBJECTIVE Ascorbic acid(AA),commonly known as vitamin C,is a small molecular widely distributed in in food and traditional herbs.Recently,there are some literatures reported that high concentration AA could selectively kill the cancer cells but not the normal cells.This study was designed to explore the underlying mechanisms.METHODS Colorectal cancer line cells were cultured and treated with AA.The cytotoxic,intracellular ATP level,reactive oxygen species,calcium,were determined with commercial kits and fluorescent probes.RESULTS High concentration of AA induced cell death in HCT116 and HT29 colorectal cancer cells in concentration-and time-dependent manner.AA treat⁃ment induced ATP decrease,LDH release,cell swollen and loss of plasma membrane integrity.Pharmacological inhibi⁃tors for apoptosis,necroptosis,autophagy,pyroptosis and oncosis showed no effect on AA-induced cell death.Further⁃more,ROS level increase and intracellular calcium(Ca2+)accumulation were observed after AA treatment.ROS scavenger N-acetyl cysteine(NAC),intracellular calcium chelator BAPTA-AM and intracellular calcium inhibitor 2-aminoethoxy⁃diphenyl borate(2-APB)could attenuate the cell death induced by AA.NAC could attenuate both ROS increase and intracellular Ca2+accumulation induced by AA,while BAPTA-AM could only attenuate intracellular Ca2+accumulation.In addition,high concentration AA induced mitochondrial damage and mitochondrial ROS generation.CONCLUSION AA induces Ca2+-dependent programed necrosis mediated by ROS.Our study provided new insights into high concentration AA induced cell death in human colon cancer cells.

Necrostatin-1 protection of dopaminergic neurons

Necroptosis is characterized by programmed necrotic cell death and autophagic activation and might be involved in the death process of dopaminergic neurons in Parkinson＇s disease. We hypothesized that necrostatin-1 could block necroptosis and give protection to dopaminergic neurons. There is likely to be crosstalk between necroptosis and other cell death pathways, such as apoptosis and autophagy. PC12 cells were pretreated with necroststin-1 1 hour before exposure to 6-hydroxydopamine. We examined cell viability, mitochondrial membrane potential and expression patterns of apoptotic and necroptotic death signaling proteins. The results showed that the autophagy/lysosomal pathway is involved in the 6-hydroxydopamine-induced death process of PC12 cells. Mitochondrial disability induced overactive autophagy, increased cathepsin B expression, and diminished Bcl-2 expression. Necrostatin-1 within a certain concentration range（5–30 μM） elevated the viability of PC12 cells, stabilized mitochondrial membrane potential, inhibited excessive autophagy, reduced the expression of LC3-II and cathepsin B, and increased Bcl-2 expression. These findings suggest that necrostatin-1 exerted a protective effect against injury on dopaminergic neurons. Necrostatin-1 interacts with the apoptosis signaling pathway during this process. This pathway could be a new neuroprotective and therapeutic target in Parkinson＇s disease.