Abstract
Serotonin−induced neuronal cell death has been implicated as a possible cause of neurodegenerative and neuropsychiatric disorders.To investigate the involvement of serotonin−induced apoptosis as a potential mechanism in the pathophysiology of serotonin−related diseases, MTT(3−(4, 5−dimethylthiazol−2−yl)−2, 5−diphenyltetrazolium bromide)assay, DAPI(4’, 6−diamidino−2−phenylindole)staining, TUNEL(terminal deoxynucleotidyl transferase−mediated dUTP−biotin nick end labeling)assay and flow cytometric analysis were performed using the immortalized pineal cell line PGT−β.Through morphological and biochemical analyses, it was demonstrated that cell death induced by serotonin in PGT−β cells shows classic apoptotic features.These data suggest that serotonin induces apoptosis in PGT−β cells.
