Objective To determine if manganese (Ⅲ) mesotetrakis (N

N′-diethylimidazolium-2-yl) porphyrin (MnTDM)

a SOD mimetic

prevents the neurotoxicity of Paraquat in the dopa’minergic neurons.   Methods   N27 cell

a dopaminergic neuron cell line

was used as cell model of Parkinson’s disease (PD) after Paraquat induction. After MnTDM intervention

the cell viability and metabolic state of Paraquat induced N27 cells were measured by MTT assay. Their protein expression of tyrosine hydroxylase (TH) was examined by immunocytochemistry and Western blot

and malondialdehyde (MDA) was detected with thiobarbituric acid (TBA) method.   Results   MnTDM significantly inhibited Paraquat-induced decreased cell viability and dopaminergic cell density depletion in N27 cell line in a dose-dependent manner. MnTDM also prevented the changes of TH expression and the increasing of MDA that were both caused by Paraquat.   Conclusion   Oxidative stress may play a role in the pathogenesis of Paraquat-induced dopaminergic cell damage. MnTDM prevents the neurotoxicity of Paraquat to some extent

suggesting the potential clinical therapy for PD.