Baicalein causes alternation in dopamine metabolism in PC12 cells by inhibiting the expression of COMT and DAT

摘要

Aim Baicalein is the major flavonoid obtained from the Scutellaria root. Our previous studies have dem- onstrated that baicalein has a clear positive effect on recovery in an experimental model of Parkinsonism. The put- pose of this study was to investigate the role of baicalein in modulating dopamine （DA） metabolism in PC12 cells and to explore possible mechanisms of its actions. Methods The intracellular content and extracellular release of DA in both rotenone-treated and untreated PC12 cells were examined. Second, PC12 cells were first pretreated with baicalein （ 10 μmol · L^-1 ） for 10 rain, and then incubated with or without ionomycin （5 μmol · L^-1 ） for 10 rain to test whether short-term exposure to baicalein affected calcium-dependent or spontaneous DA release. Third, the intracellular and extracellular contents of DA and its related metabolites were examined. After treatment with baica- lein for 24 h, the The tyrosine hydroxylase （TH）, monoamine oxidase B （MAOB）, catechol-O-methyltransferase （COMT） and dopamine transporter （DAT） were detected by immunoblot analysis. Results The results showed that baicalein prevented rotenone-induced cytotoxicity and significantly increased the DA content in both rotenone- treated and untreated PC12 cells. Furthermore, it had no effect on ionomycin-induced or spontaneous DA release after short-term exposure but significantly increased DA content in a time- and dose-dependent manner after treat- ment for 6 h. Baicalein also significantly decreased the intracellular and extracellular homovanillic acid （HVA） content but increased the intracellular 3,4-dihydroxy phenylacetic acid （DOPAC） content. Finally, baicalein sig- nificantly decreased the expression of COMT and DAT, but it had no effect on the expression of TH and MAOB. Conclusion These data suggest that bacalein has the ability to increase DA content and modulate DA metabolism by inhibiting the expression of COMT and DAT. Our study provides evidence that baicalein may be a potential anti- PD drug that merits further study.