Neuroinflammation has been implicated in the pathogenesis of neurodegenerative Parkinson's disease (PD). Moreover, some studies have found that total T cell pool was changed in PD. However, little is known about peripheral blood mononuclear cells (PBMC) in the pathogenesis of PD. Recent studies have demonstrated that endogenous neurotoxin 1,2(N)- dimethyl-6,7-dihydroxy-1,2,3,4-tetrahydroisoquinoline (N-methyl-salsolinol, NMSal), an analogue of 1-methyl-4-phenyl-1,2, 3,6- tetrahydropyridine (MPTP) in the brain, could induce degeneration of dopaminergic neurons and cause neuroimmune dysfunction in PD. In the present study, we examined the effect of conditioned medium from NMSal treated co-cultures of neuroblastoma SH-SY5Y cells and glioma cell line U87 cells on human monocyte THP-1 cells. The results showed that the conditioned medium attenuated apoptosis of THP-1 cells mediated by NMSal. The conditioned medium inhibited the swelling and rupture of mitochondrial membrane, reduced the production of malondialdehyde (MDA) and H₂O₂, and decreased expression levels of caspase3, Bax and FADD of THP-1 cells induced by NMSal. These indicated that the interaction of neurons with astrocyte could affect cell amount and immune function of PBMC, then affecting the progression of PD.

Parkinson's disease  /  N-methyl-salsolinol  /  co-culture  /  human monocyte THP-1  /  apoptosis