Upregulation of glutathione peroxidase-1 expression and activity by glial cell line-derived neurotrophic factor promotes high-level protection of PC12 cells against 6-hydroxydopamine and hydrogen peroxide toxicities.

We examined the impact of strong co-presence and function of glutathione peroxidase-1 (GPX-1) and glial cell line-derived neurotrophic factor (GDNF) on protecting the rat dopaminergic pheochromocytoma cell line PC12 against 6-hydroxydopamine (6-OHDA) and hydrogen peroxide (H₂O₂) toxicities. Primarily, GPX-1 over-expression by PC12 cells infected with pLV-GPX1 lentivirus vectors significantly increased cell survival against 6-OHDA toxicity (p<0.01). Addition of conditioned medium collected from growing wild-type astrocytes (Control astro-CM) increased survival rate of pLV-GPX1 infectants by 10% compared to their un-treated counterparts (p<0.05) and 20% compared to their treated empty vector control (p<0.01). Treatment of pLV-GPX1 cells with astro-CM of GDNF-over-secreting astrocytes (Test astro-CM) significantly induced GPX-1 expression, peroxidase enzymatic activity, and intra-cellular glutathione (GSH) levels. These changes paralleled with protection of 90% of GDNF⁺/GPX1⁺ PC12 cells against toxicity, a rate that was 37% up from their un-infected un-treated (GDNF⁻/GPX1⁻) controls (p<0.001), and 12% up from pLV-GPX1 cells that received only Control astro-CM (GPX⁺/GDNF⁻) (p<0.01). GPX-1 over-expression per se suppressed intra-cellular H₂O₂ elevation upon 6-OHDA exposure, and addition of GDNF medium significantly accelerated this suppression (p<0.01). Substitution of 6-OHDA with H₂O₂ induced similar intra-cellular changes and comparable protection levels. In all cell groups, increased cell survival against either compound was further confirmed by increased live cell counts measured by double staining. Following depletion of intra-cellular GSH, only 46% of pLV-GPX1 cells survived 6-OHDA toxicity, whereas over 70% of them were saved upon GDNF treatment (p<0.001). Moreover, capase-3 activation was reduced in pLV-GPX1 cells and maximized by addition of GDNF. Comparison analyses established correlations between GPX-1-GDNF co-presence and both enhanced cell protection and diminished levels of activated caspase-3. Our data collectively indicate that GDNF is capable of inducing anti-oxidant activities of intra-cellular GPX-1 and that growth-promoting potential of GDNF and anti-oxidant properties of GPX-1 can, in concert, maximize survival of dopaminergic neurons.