Apoptosis of NG108-15 cells induced by fluorine combined with aluminum exposure and the effect of curcumin intervention

Abstract The mechanism by which the combination of fluorine and aluminum (FA) cause learning and memory impairment is still unclear. Curcumin is a yellow polyphenol extracted from the rhizome of the plant curcuma longa linn, which has anti-apoptotic and antioxidant functions; studies have shown that the PKC-NMDAR pathway plays an important role in the process of cell apoptosis. Based on the above, we designed an in vitro study on the role of curcumin in cell apoptosis caused by coexistence of FA. In this study, the cell viability of NG108-15 cell was detected by CCK-8; cell apoptosis was detected by AO/EB dual fluorescence staining kit; mRNA expressions of PKC and NMDAR were evaluated by qRT-PCR and protein expressions of caspase3, Bax, Bcl-2, PKC and NMDAR were evaluated by WB. Our results showed that curcumin alleviated FA-induced apoptosis of NG108-15 cells, possibly by inhibiting the increase of caspase3 protein and Bax protein, and the decrease of Bcl-2 protein, thereby upregulating the expression of PKC and NMDAR to exert neuroprotective effect.