Cucurbitacin E Has Neuroprotective Properties and Autophagic Modulating Activities on Dopaminergic Neurons

Figure 5

Selective detection of superoxide anion by MitoSOX Red. This fluorogenic dye enters the cell and is oxidized by to a red fluorescent molecule. DDC, a specific superoxide dismutase inhibitor, was used as a positive control for production. (a) Fluorescence microphotographs show intense MitoSOX Red signal in DDC exposed cells. CuE does not rescue cells from oxidative stress as levels are equally high in DDC condition with or without CuE pretreatment. Untreated control and CuE-only condition show similar low fluorescence levels. Nuclei were counterstained in blue with Hoechst 33342. Scale bar = 10 μm. (b) Histogram. Semiquantitative measures of MitoSOX Red fluorescence. Data are expressed as relative fluorescence units and are means ± S.E.M. . versus Ctrl. n.s. = nonsignificant.

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