[Alpha-lipoic acid inhibits the expression of α-synuclein in PC12 cells induced by 6-hydroxydopamine and its mechanism].

Objective To investigate the effects of α-lipoic acid (α-LA) on the expression of α-synuclein(α-syn)in cellular models of Parkinson's disease (PD) induced by 6-hydroxydopamine (6-OHDA) and its mechanism. Methods PC12 cells were induced by 6-OHDA to establish the cellular models of PD, which was treated with α-LA. Cell viability was detected using MTT assay. The contents of intracellular iron and malondialdehyde (MDA) were detected by colorimetry.The level of intracellular reactive oxygen species (ROS) was detected by 2, 7-dichlorodihydrofluorescein diacetate (DCFH-DA) staining. Western blot analysis was performed to detect the level of α-syn protein. Results Compared with the normal control group, the cell viability of the model group was significantly decreased, the contents of intracellular iron and MDA and the level of ROS were significantly increased, and the expression level of α-syn was significantly increased; compared with the model group, the cell viability of the α-LA treat group was significantly increased, the contents of intracellular iron and MDA and the level of ROS were significantly decreased, and the expression level of α-syn was significantly decreased. Conclusion α-LA can inhibit the overexpression of α-syn and attenuate the damage of PC12 cells induced by 6-OHDA, which may be related to the decrease of contents of intracellular iron and oxidative stress level by α-LA.