Protective Actions of 17β-Estradiol and Progesterone on Oxidative Neuronal Injury Induced by Organometallic Compounds

Figure 4

Suppressive effects of de novo synthesized 17β-estradiol on MeHg-induced oxidative stress and cell death in rat hippocampal slices. Rat hippocampal slices were pretreated with ER antagonist ICI182,780 (ICI, 100 μM) or cytochrome P450 aromatase inhibitor letrozole (Let, 10 μM) for 20 min and then the slices were treated with 1 μM of MeHg for 24 h. Cell viability of the dentate gyrus region was measured by propidium iodide staining (a), and lipid peroxidation was evaluated by determination of thiobarbituric acid reactive substance (TBARS) contents (b). The reported values are the mean ± S.E. of 5 separate experiments. ^*, ^** versus 1 μM MeHg-treated group.

(a)

(b)