Preventive effect of Ginkgo biloba extract on apoptosis in rat cerebellar neuronal cells induced by hydroxyl radicals

The ability of oxidative stress to induce apoptosis, and the effect of Ginkgo biloba extract (EGb761) on this induction were studied in primary cultured rat cerebellar neuronal cells. Cells were exposed to hydroxyl radicals by treating them with 20-50 mu M hydrogen peroxide (H2O2) and 100 mu M ferrous sulfate. Hydroxyl radical treatment fragmented the DNA in a manner typical of apoptosis cells, producing a ladder pattern of 200 base pair increments on 1% agarose gel electrophoresis. Pretreatment of cells with 100 mu g/ml EGb reduced hydroxyl radical induced cells apoptosis (determined by flow cytometry) and DNA fragmentation. The results indicate that hydroxyl radicals induce apoptosis in rat cerebellar neuronal cells, and this induction can be prevented by EGb.