Protective effect of ultra low molecular weight heparin on glutamate-induced apoptosis in cortical cells

To investigate the effect of ultra low molecular weight heparin (ULMWH) on glutamate induced apoptosis in rat cortical cells and to explore the possible mechanisms. Cell viability was measured using 3-(4,5-dimethylthiazol-2-yl)-2,5-diphenyltetrazolium bromide assay. Apoptosis was first analyzed with Hoechst 33258 and then confirmed by DNA fragmentation. The concentration of free intracellular calcium ([Ca(2+)](i)) was determined with fura-2/AM fluorometry. The expression of Bcl-2 family protein and caspase-3 were evaluated with Western blot. Typical apoptotic morphological change in rat cortical cells treated with 100 micromol/L glutamate for 24h was detected by Hoechst 33258 staining, which was then confirmed by the DNA ladder of agarose gel electrophoresis. The apoptotic rate of the glutamate treated cells was up to 33.21%, and 24 h of treatment with glutamate increased [Ca(2+)](i), down-regulated Bcl-2 expression, up-regulated Bax expression, and increased caspase-3 activation in rat cortical cells. Our research demonstrated that ULMWH pretreatment can prevent the glutamate-induced apoptosis, attenuate the increase of [Ca(2+)](i) not only in medium containing Ca(2+) but also in Ca(2+)-free medium, up-regulate the expression of Bcl-2, down-regulate the expression of Bax, and decrease caspase-3 activation. ULMWH has neuroprotective capacity to antagonize glutamate-induced apoptosis in cortical cells, through decrease of Ca(2+) release and modulation of apoptotic processes.