Objective: To decide whether ethanol induce apoptosis in mouse insulinoma cells (NIT-1) and the potential mechanism involved.
Methods: After NIT-1 cells were exposed to various concentrations of ethanol, agarose gel electrophoresis was used to detected DNA fragmentation. malondialdehyde (MDA) content, glutathione (GSH) level, superoxide dismutase(SOD) and glutathione peroxidase (GSH-Px) were measured in NIT-1 cells to evaluate the oxidative damage degree. Caspase-3 relative activity was determined by colorimetric assay.
Results: The results showed a "DNA ladder" pattern after treated with ethanol in NIT-1 cells. The MDA content was higher, the SOD activity, GSH-Px activity and GSH content were lower in ethanol group than those of control group. Ethanol increased the caspase-3 activity by a dose and time dependent manner.
Conclusion: Higher concentration of ethanol induces imbalance of oxidation and antioxidative ability in NIT-1 cells, and oxidative stress further leads to apoptosis which may be related to the increased caspase-3 activity.