Figure 4
AT2R modulates the level of zinc-triggered oxidative stress in cortical cells. A) Cortical cells were loaded with H2-DCFDA (DCF) to detect ROS as an indicator of oxidative stress, and subsequently treated with zinc (Zn), zinc plus angiotensin II (+Ang), zinc plus PD123319 (+PD), or zinc plus losartan (+Losartan). Compared to sham-washed cultures, zinc treatment increased the level of DCF fluorescence in neurons, an effect that was further augmented by addition of angiotensin II. PD123319 markedly attenuated the zinc-induced increase in DCF fluorescence in neurons, whereas losartan had no effect. B) Bars denote relative DCF fluorescence in cortical cell cultures following 15 min exposure to zinc, zinc plus angiotensin II, zinc plus PD123319, or zinc plus losartan (*p < 0.05 versus zinc alone; two-tailed t-test). C) LDH release (mean ± SEM, n = 4) in cortical cell cultures after 15 min exposure to 300 μM zinc, zinc plus angiotensin II (1 μM), and zinc plus angiotensin II and NAC (1 mM). Addition of NAC blocked the potentiating effect of angiotensin II in zinc-induced neuronal cell death (*p < 0.05, **p < 0.01 for differences between indicated values; two-tailed t-test).