Neuroscience
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1-Methyl-4-phenylpyridinium ion (MPP+), an inhibitor of mitochondrial complex I, has been widely used as a neurotoxin because it elicits a severe Parkinson's disease-like syndrome with an elevation of intracellular reactive oxygen species (ROS) and apoptosis. L-carnitine plays an integral role in attenuating the brain injury associated with mitochondrial neurodegenerative disorders. The present study investigates the effects of L-carnitine against the toxicity of MPP+ in rat forebrain primary cultures. ⋯ Co-incubation of MPP+ with L-carnitine significantly reduced MPP+-induced apoptosis. Western blot analyses showed that neurotoxic concentrations of MPP+ decreased the ratio of BCL-X(L) to Bax and decreased the protein levels of polysialic acid neural cell adhesion molecules (PSA-NCAM), a neuron specific marker. L-carnitine blocked these effects of MPP+ suggesting its potential therapeutic utility in degenerative disorders such as Parkinson's disease, Alzheimer's disease, ornithine transcarbamylase deficiency and other mitochondrial diseases.