Low-Dose Ethanol Preconditioning Protects Against Oxygen- Glucose Deprivation/Reoxygenation-Induced Neuronal Injury By Activating Large Conductance, Ca2＋-Activated K＋ Channels In Vitro

Increasing evidence suggests that low to mod- erate ethanol ingestion protects against the deleterious effects of subsequent ischemia/reperfusion; however, the underlying mechanism has not been elucidated. In the present study, we showed that expression of the neuronal large-conductance, Ca2＋-activated K＋ channel （BKca） α- subunit was upregulated in cultured neurons exposed to oxygen-glucose deprivation/reoxygenation （OGD/R） compared with controls. Preconditioning with low-dose ethanol （10 mmol/L） increased cell survival rate in neurons subjected to OGD/R, attenuated the OGD/R-induced elevation of cytosolic Ca2＋ levels, and reduced the number of apoptotic neurons. Western blots revealed that ethanol preconditioning upregulated expression of the anti-apoptotic protein Bcl-2 and downregulated the pro-apoptotic protein Bax. The protective effect of ethanol precondi- tioning was antagonized by a BKα channel inhibitor, paxilline. Inside-out patches in primary neurons also demonstrated the direct activation of the BKCa channel by 10 mmol/L ethanol. The above results indicated that low- dose ethanol preconditioning exerts its neuroprotective effects by attenuating the elevation of cytosolic Ca2＋ and preventing neuronal apoptosis, and this is mediated by BKca channel activation.