The contribution of Cdc2 in rotenone-induced G2/M arrest and caspase-3-dependent apoptosis.

Neuronal cell cycle reentry maintained in a G2-like state before cell death, has been confirmed in dopaminergic neurons of patients with Parkinson's disease (PD). Caspase-3 is a final effector in apoptotic dopaminergic neurons in patients. The association of aberrant G2/M regulation with caspase-3 dependent apoptosis remains to be elucidated. Cell division cycle protein 2 (Cdc2) is a key player in G2/M transition in mitotic cells. Although the deregulation of Cdc2 correlated with the control of apoptosis in neurons, the molecular pathway by which Cdc2 involves in apoptosis is not clear. In a rotenone-based cell model of PD, we demonstrated that rotenone arrested cell cycle at G2/M phase and activated caspase-3 both in cytoplasm and nucleus. The decreased activity of Cdc2 by roscovitine or rotenone enhanced G2/M arrest. The increased cells in G2/M arrest by rotenone upregulated the expression of Cdc2. Suppression of Cdc2 expression downregulated cleaved caspase-3/9 and delayed cell apoptosis. Used together, the upregulation of Cdc2 contributes to rotenone-induced caspase-3/9-dependent apoptosis, which is associated with the enhancement of G2/M arrest. Our results suggest the deregulation of Cdc2 as a transition between cell cycle arrest and cell death.