Natural compounds attenuate heavy metal-induced PC12 cell damage

Objectives: To investigate the neuroprotective effects of six natural compounds (caffeine, gallic acid, resveratrol, epigallocatechin gallate [EGCG], L-ascorbic acid and alpha tocopherol [Vitamin E] on heavy metal-induced cell damage in rat PC12 cells.

Methods: In this in vitro experiment, rat PC12 cells were exposed to four heavy metals (CdCl₂, HgCl₂, CoCl₂ and PbCl₂) at different concentrations and cell apoptosis, necrosis and oxidative stress were assessed with and without the addition of the six natural compounds.

Results: The metals decreased cell viability but the natural compounds attenuated their effects on apoptosis, necrosis and reactive oxygen species (ROS) levels. Mitochondrial protein changes were involved in the regulation.

Conclusion: Overall, the natural compounds did provide protection against the metal-induced PC12 cell damage. These data suggest that natural compounds may have therapeutic potential against metal-induced neurodegenerative disease.

Keywords: Metal salts; PC12 cells; PCA; ROS; apoptosis; natural compounds; necrosis; polyphenols.