Ebselen, a redox regulator containing a selenium atom, induces neurofilament M expression in cultured rat pheochromocytoma PC12 cells via activation of mitogen-activated protein kinase.

We found that ebselen [2-phenyl-1,2-benzisoselenazol-3(2H)-one] caused phosphorylation of mitogen-activated protein kinase (MAPK), followed by expression of neurofilament-M, a neuron-specific protein, in cultured PC12 rat pheochromocytoma cells. The ebselen-induced MAPK activation was suppressed by U0126, an inhibitor of MAPK kinase (MEK1/2), but not by K252a, a selective inhibitor of Trk family tyrosine kinases; AG1478, an antagonist of epidermal growth factor receptor (EGFR); pertussis toxin, an inhibitor of Gi/o; or GP antagonist-2A, an inhibitor of Gq. Furthermore, we observed that N-acetyl-L-cysteine, an inhibitor of tyrosine kinases, suppressed ebselen-induced MAPK activation and buthionine sulfoximine, an activator of protein tyrosine phosphatases, enhanced the effect, indicating that ebselen activated MEK1/2 through one or more tyrosine kinases. Based on these results, we propose that ebselen stimulated intracellular tyrosine kinase activity, thus activating a MAPK cascade (tyrosine kinase-MEK1/2-ERK1/2) in PC12 cells and that this activation resulted in their neuronal differentiation.