Protective effects of Ginkgo biloba extract on paraquat-induced apoptosis of PC12 cells

Previous studies have suggested that Ginkgo biloba extract (EGb761) has a protective potentiality against apoptosis of neurons or neuron-like cells induced by MPTP. In this study, the effects of EGb761 on PC12 cells injured by paraquat (PQ), a neurotoxin, were tested. The results showed that after incubation of PC12 cells with EGb761 prior to PQ exposure, the PQ-induced decrease of cell viability was significantly reversed, the collapse of mitochondrial membrane potential (MMP) was attenuated and the percentage of apoptotic cells was reduced. Moreover, EGb761 pretreatment evidently increased the numbers of tyrosine hydroxylase (TH) positive and bcl-2 positive cells and degraded the number of caspase-3 positive cells in PQ-injured PC12 cells, in comparison to the treatment with PQ alone. This study indicates that EGb761 has a neuroprotective effect on paraquat-induced apoptosis of PC12 cells. The mechanism underlying the protective effects of EGb761 in PQ-injured PC12 cells might be related to the increase of bcl-2 activation, maintenance of MMP stability and decrease of caspase-3 activation through mitochondria-dependent pathway. The results from this study provide an experimental basis for the potential use of EGb761 in treatment of Parkinson’s disease.