Protective effects of vacuolar H+-ATPase c on hydrogen peroxide-induced cell death in C6 glioma cells

We have isolated a gene, the c subunit (ATP6L) of vacuolar H+-ATPase, involved in oxidative stress response. In this study, we examined the role of ATP6L and its molecular mechanisms in glial cell death induced by H2O2. Expression of the ATP6L gene was increased by H2O2 treatment in C6 glial cells. ATP6L siRNA-transfected C6 cells treated with H2O2 showed a significant decrease in viability. ATP6L siRNA-transfected cells that were pretreated with MEK1/2 inhibitor completely recovered cell viability. Pretreatment of the transfected cells with zVAD-fmk, a pan-specific caspase inhibitor, did not result in the recovery of cell viability, as determined by a H2O2-induced cytotoxicity assay. The ultrastructural morphology of the transfected cells as seen by the use of transmission electron microscopy showed numerous cytoplasmic autophagic vacuoles with double membrane. These results suggest that ATP6L has a protective role against H2O2-induced cytotoxicity via an inhibition of the Erk1/2 signaling pathway, leading to inhibition of autophagic cell death.