FIGURE 2. cAMP reverses 6-OHDA-induced CRE repression and cell death.

A, cells were transfected with pCRE-luc plasmid and then stimulated with vehicle, Bt₂cAMP, 6-OHDA, or 6-OHDA following a 10-min pretreatment with Bt₂cAMP. After 3 h, cells were lysed, and luciferase activity was measured. Data are the mean ± S.D. and are representative of five independent experiments. *, p < 0.05 by ANOVA followed by Student’s t test with Bonferroni correction. B, B65 cells were treated for 10 min with medium (None) or Bt₂cAMP before exposure to vehicle or 6-OHDA for 18 h. Cell injury was assayed using the LDH release assay, and data are representative of at least three independent experiments. *, p < 0.05 versus 6-OHDA with no pretreatment (Student’s t test). C, cells were photographed immediately prior to performing the LDH assay, showing that Bt₂cAMP pretreatment results in greater numbers of viable neuronal cells (right) compared with the shrunken, dead morphology observed with 6-OHDA alone (left).