[Inhibitory effects of recombinant human neurotrophin-4/5 protein on neurotoxicity caused by arsenic trioxide].
OBJECTIVE: To study preliminarily the inhibitory effects of recombinant human neurotrophin (hNT)-4/5 protein on neurotoxicity caused by arsenic trioxide (As(2)O(3)). METHODS: Nerve cells of the chicken embryonic forebrain and PC12 cells were co-cultured with recombinant hNT-4/5 protein and As(2)O(3) (0 - 16 micromol/L) for 24 and 48 hours, respectively, to observe the survival of nerve cells and the outgrowth of PC12 cells, with clone expression and recombination techniques. RESULTS: There was significant difference in survival rate of nerve cells between the experimental and control groups (P < 0.01) after co-culture for 48 hours, and survival rate and number of neuron outgrowth increased with the concentration of hNT-4/5 protein. CONCLUSION: Recombinant hNT-4/5 protein could inhibit neurotoxicity caused by As(2)O(3), which provided a basis to find an anti-toxic factor in the environment by genetic engineering.