OBjECTIvE: To examine the modulatory effects of the antioxidant Trolox in the interplay of Akt and apoptosis signal-regulating kinase (Ask) 1 in doxorubicin (Dox)-induced oxidative stress (OS).
METHODS: Rat cardiomyocytes were treated with Dox (5 μM) or Trolox (20 μM) for 24 h, or were pretreated with Trolox (20 μM) for 4 h before treatment with Dox (5 μM) for 24 h, and were compared with cardiomyocytes without any treatment. For the Akt inhibition study, cardiomyocytes were pretreated overnight with the phosphoinositol 3-kinase/Akt inhibitor wortmannin (1 μM) before treatment with Dox, Trolox or Trolox + Dox. The gain and loss of Akt gene function with HA-tagged constitutively active Akt1 or dominant-negative mutant Akt1 (T308A; S473A) was also studied in the cardiomyocytes under all treatment conditions. Cells exposed to various treatment conditions were analyzed for OS, apoptotic and antiapoptotic proteins, and phosphorylation of Ask1Ser83, Ask1Thr845 and AktSer473.
