RESUMO
OBJECTIVE: Deleterious effects of free radicals do not only result from the amount of free radicals produced but also are related to the efficiency and to the activities of enzymatic antioxidant systems. We investigated the effect of exogenous superoxide dismutase (SOD1) or Cu-chelating agent diethyldithiocarbamate (DDC) on the apoptosis (caspase-3 activity) of human granulosa luteinized cells (hGLC) in vitro. METHODS: The effects of SOD1 and DDC were studied using in vitro culture system, caspase-3 and the total SOD activity in hGLCs were measured using AcDEVD-PNA substrate and Beaushap and Fridovich methods, respectively, after 48 h of the culture period. RESULTS: The activity of SOD1 was the lowest in GLCs treated with 100 µM DDC as compared to control cells and to the cells supplemented with Cu, Zn-SOD or DDC (10 µM). The effect of DDC was associated with elevated caspase-3 activity as compared to control cells. CONCLUSIONS: It was demonstrated for the first time that the supplementation of cultured hGLCs with Cu2+, Zn2+-SOD (200 U/ml) maintains the viability of hGLCs via caspase-3 suppression.
