ABSTRACT
OBJECTIVE: To explore the molecular mechanism underlying 1,2-dichloroethane(1,2-DCE) induced apoptosis by screening differentially expressed proteins in human astrocytes( HAs). METHODS: HAs were cultured in complete medium with 1,2-DCE at various concentrations of 0-80 or 0-40 mmol/L. After 24 hours,apoptosis of HAs was evaluated using flow cytometry and staining with annexin Ⅴ-fluoresce in isothiocyanate and propidium iodide. An AAH-APO-1-2 protein chip was used to screen differentially expressed proteins and quantitative real-time polymease chain reaction(qRT-PCR) was used to verify related differentially expressed genes(DEGs). RESULTS: At 1,2-DCE concentrations of0-80 mmol/L,the total apoptosis rate of HAs increased with 1,2-DCE concentrations in a dose-dependent manner( P <0. 01). Seven different kinds of proteins were screened out by apoptotic protein chip. Among them,the expression of insulin-like growth factor-binding protein( IGFBP)-1,IGFBP-4 and cytochrome C( Cyto C) were up-regulated,while the expression of P27,cysteine aspartic acid specific protease-3( Caspase-3),B-cell lymphoma-2 interacting mediator of cell death( BIM) and BH3 interacting domain death agonist( BID) were down-regulated compared with the control group. The result of DEGs verified by qRT-PCR showed that the expression of mRNA of IGFBP-1,IGFBP-4 and Cyto C at 1,2-DCE concentrations of 40 mmol/L was up-regulated. This result was in consistent with the trend of target expression in the protein chip. The mRNA expression of Caspase-3,BIM and BID was also up-regulated. CONCLUSION: 1,2-DCE induces apoptosis of HAs through mitochondrial pathway.