Corasaniti M T, Navarra M, Nisticò S, Rotiroti D, Maccarrone M, Melino G, Finazzi-Agrò A
Faculty of Pharmacy, University of Catanzaro, Italy.
Biochem Biophys Res Commun. 1998 May 29;246(3):686-9. doi: 10.1006/bbrc.1998.8687.
The HIV-1 envelope protein gp120 engenders Ca(2+)-mediated, excitotoxic damage of rodent neuronal and human neuroblastoma cells in culture. Here we report that human CHP100 neuroblastoma cells undergo early peroxidation of membrane lipids following a brief exposure to gp120. This effect is prevented by preincubating cell cultures with the 21-aminosteroid U-74389G, an inhibitor of membrane lipid peroxidation, which also rescues neuroblastoma cultures from gp120-induced cell death; conversely, no protection from cell death is observed when the 21-aminosteroid is added to neuroblastoma cultures after the induction of membrane lipid peroxidation by gp120. These data indicate that membrane lipid peroxidation has a causative role in the expression of cell death produced by the viral protein.
