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Introduction: Since Curcuma longa extract and curcumin have been shown to be potent antioxidant agents, they were used in cultured adult mouse spinal cord slices to investigate whether they can inhibit apoptosis in motor neurons. Methods: Slices from the thoracic region of adult mice spinal cord were divided into four groups: 1. Freshlyprepared slices (time 0); 2. Control; 3. Slices treated by curcumin (20 μM); and 4. Slices treated by Curcuma longa extract (1000 ppm). The control and the treated slices were cultured for 6 hours. MTT [3-(4,5-dimethylthiazol-2-yl)-2,5- diphenyltetrazolium bromide] assay was used to evaluate slice viability in the four groups. Morphological and biochemical features of apoptosis were studied using fluorescent staining (propidium iodide and Hoechst 33342) and TUNEL method, respectively. Data were analyzed using one-way ANOVA. Results: The viability of slices cultured for 6 hours (control) was considerably decreased compared to freshly-prepared slices. Motor neurons from slices cultured for 6 hours showed morphological and biochemical features of apoptosis. At this time point, the application of either curcumin or Curcuma longa extract not only increased the viability of cultured slices compared to the control, but also they could inhibit morphological and biochemical features of apoptosis in the motor neurons. Conclusion: Oxidative stress might be a possible mechanism for the induction of apoptosis of motor neurons in cultured spinal cord slices. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Objective: The aim of this study was to investigate the preventive effect of the polyamine component N, N, N′, N′-tetrakis(2-aminoethyl)2,2-dimethylproparie-1,3-diamine (tdmtn) on apoptotic motor neurons in adult mouse spinal cord slices. Materials and Methods: Thoracic region of adult mouse spinal cords was sliced by a tissue chopper into 400 urn slices and cultured in medium in the presence or absence of tdmtn for 6 hours. Morphological a features of apoptosis were evaluated using fluorescent staining with propidium iodide and Hoechst 33342. The appearance of nucleosomal DNA fragmentation was studied using agarose gel electrophoresis. Our results were analyzed using the one-way ANOVA and Tukey's tests. Results: After 6 hours in culture, motor neurons displayed morphological sings of apoptosis including cell shrinkage, as well as nuclear and chromatin condensation. DNA extracted from slices cultured for 24 hours revealed nucleosomal DNA fragmentation on agarose gel electrophoresis. Tdmtn reduced the occurrence of apoptosis in motor neurons and significantly (p<0.01) increased the viability of these neurons after 6 hours of culturing. Conclusion: Tdmtn, as a polyamine component, could probably prevent the occurrence of motor neuron apoptosis through calcium chelation. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]