PMID:12223545

Citation	Noshita, N, Sugawara, T, Hayashi, T, Lewén, A, Omar, G and Chan, PH (2002) Copper/zinc superoxide dismutase attenuates neuronal cell death by preventing extracellular signal-regulated kinase activation after transient focal cerebral ischemia in mice. J. Neurosci. 22:7923-30
Abstract	Recent studies have revealed that activation of extracellular signal-regulated kinase (ERK) may contribute to apoptosis, a cell death process involved in oxidative stress. We examined phosphorylation of ERK1/2 and oxidative stress after transient focal cerebral ischemia (FCI) using transgenic (Tg) mice that overexpress copper/zinc superoxide dismutase (SOD1). The mice were subjected to 60 min of middle cerebral artery (MCA) occlusion by intraluminal suture blockade followed by 1, 4, and 24 hr of reperfusion. Immunohistochemistry and Western blot analysis showed that phospho-ERK1 was markedly increased in the cortex within the MCA territory at 1 hr of reperfusion (p < 0.01), followed by a decrease at 24 hr in wild-type mice. Double staining with phospho-ERK1/2 and neuron-specific nuclear protein showed that phospho-ERK1/2 was primarily expressed in neurons. In SOD1 Tg mice, phospho-ERK1/2 was prominently reduced compared with nonischemic controls, shown by immunohistochemistry. Western blot analysis confirmed a significant decrease in phospho-ERK1/2 1 hr after FCI in the ischemic cortex (p < 0.005). Apoptotic-related DNA fragmentation was reduced in the ischemic cortex of SOD1 Tg mice compared with wild-type mice using a cell death assay. These results suggest that phosphorylation of ERK1/2 may be involved in apoptosis or cell death after transient FCI and that SOD1 may attenuate apoptotic cell death mediated by the mitogen-activated protein kinase/ERK pathway.
Links	PubMed
Keywords	Animals; Blotting, Western; Cell Death/drug effects; Cell Death/physiology; Cerebral Cortex/blood supply; Cerebral Cortex/enzymology; Cerebral Cortex/pathology; DNA Fragmentation; Enzyme Activation/drug effects; Enzyme Activation/physiology; Humans; Immunohistochemistry; Ischemic Attack, Transient/metabolism; Ischemic Attack, Transient/pathology; Male; Mice; Mice, Transgenic; Mitogen-Activated Protein Kinase 1/metabolism; Mitogen-Activated Protein Kinase 3; Mitogen-Activated Protein Kinase Kinases/metabolism; Mitogen-Activated Protein Kinases/metabolism; Neurons/drug effects; Neurons/metabolism; Neurons/pathology; Oxidative Stress/physiology; Phosphorylation; Reactive Oxygen Species/metabolism; Superoxide Dismutase/genetics; Superoxide Dismutase/metabolism; Superoxide Dismutase/pharmacology; Superoxides/metabolism
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