Arbitration of Adriamycin - induced Apoptosis and Cellular Injury In Vero cells by DL-α-lipoic acid

The use of adriamycin (ADR) as a potent chemotherapeutic agent is severely limited due to its cytotoxic side effects. The present study was carried out in Vero cell line to establish the protective role of lipoic acid (LA) in combating ADR-induced toxicities invitro. The highlight of the study was in assessing lipid peroxidation (LPO) and key cellular enzymes that were released in the spent medium as a result of ADR-induced cell damage. Apoptosis was assessed using the acridine orange and ethidium bromide (AO/EB) staining technique. Cells visualized under fluorescent microscopy showed yellow chromatin and orange chromatin indicating the different stages of apoptotic onset by ADR administration at two different time intervals. LPO and key cellular enzymes [lactate dehydrogenase (LDH), a cytoplasmic marker; N-acetyl-β-glucosaminidase (NAG), a lysosomal marker and gamma glutamyl transferase (γ-GT), a brush-border membrane marker] assessed showed a significant increase during ADR exposure. They were well under control upon pretreatment with LA. As a result, it can be deduced that a major factor contributing to ADR-induced apoptosis in Vero cells could be the result of reactive oxygen species (ROS) mediated oxidative stress that was opposed by LA pretreatment.