Humanin and its derivatives inhibit necrosis in neuronal cells in vitro. (A) Dose-dependent protective effect of AGA(C8R)-HNG17 on the viability of PC-12 cells treated with KCN, as assessed by trypan blue exclusion. *P ≤ 0.04 (t test), as compared with vehicle with KCN; n = 3. (B) The antinecrotic effect of 10 μmol/L humanin and its derivatives in PC-12 cells under necrotic conditions induced by STS/oligomycin-A (Oligo + STS), as assessed by AO/EtBr double staining. The protective effect against oligomycin-A (Oligo) and STS alone is also shown. *P ≤ 0.05 (t test), as compared with vehicle; n = 3. (C) The antinecrotic effect of 10 μmol/L humanin and its derivatives in the same experimental setup as in (B), with lactate dehydrogenase (LDH) release reflecting cell death. *P ≤ 0.04 (t test), as compared with vehicle; n = 3. (D) LDH release in NSC-34 cells under necrotic conditions induced by 15 mmol/L KCN with or without treatment with 10 μmol/L humanin peptides. *P ≤ 0.02 and **P ≤ 0.05 (t test) compared with vehicle treatment with KCN; n = 3.