Arsenate, a well known toxicant, can induce injury in nerve system via oxidative stress and apoptosis. This study was designed to explore the protective effect of taurine against arsenite-induced neurotoxicity and its related mechanism in primary cortical neurons. The cells were treated with arsenite with or without taurine. Twenty-Four hours later, cell viability was examined using the MTT assay. The activity of caspase-3 was analyzed and the level of Akt and p-Akt were examined by western blot. The results show that taurine treatment significantly attenuates the decrease in cell viability of arsenite-exposed primary cortical neurons. Taurine also reversed the arsenite-induced increase in caspase-3 activity. The decrease in p-Akt levels induced by arsenite exposure was prevented by taurine treatment. Thus, taurine attenuated the effect of arsenite on primary cortical neurons, an effect that may involve the Akt pathway.
Keywords: Apoptosis; Arsenic; PI3K/AKT; Taurine.