24-Epibrassinolide, a Phytosterol from the Brassinosteroid Family, Protects Dopaminergic Cells against MPP+-Induced Oxidative Stress and Apoptosis
Figure 8
Effect of 24-Epi on the Bax/Bcl-2 ratio in neuronal PC12 cells. Cells were pretreated with 24-Epi or vehicle (Ctrl) for 3 h. Then, they were treated or not with MPP+ for 24 h. Bax and Bcl-2 protein expression levels were quantified and the Bax/Bcl-2 ratio was determined for each treatment (-▲-). Pretreatment with 24-Epi alone did not modulate the Bax/Bcl-2 ratio (24-Epi). In contrast, the Bax/Bcl-2 ratio increased upon treatment with MPP+ while pretreatment with 24-Epi (24-Epi + MPP+) significantly prevented this increment. The data are expressed as percentages of values in untreated control cells and are means ± S.E.M. . versus Ctrl, versus MPP+, and versus MPP+.
