Cytoglobin up-regulated by hydrogen peroxide plays a protective role in oxidative stress

Cytoglobin (Cygb) is a recently discovered intracellular respiratory globin, which exists in all types of cells. It has been suggested that Cygb has a role in protecting cells against oxidative stress. In the present study we have tested this hypothesis. The N2a neuroblastoma cells were exposed to various kinds of insults, including hydrogen peroxide (H2O2), hypoxia, kainic acid, high extracellular CaCl2, high osmolarity, UV irradiation and heat shock. Among them, only H2O2-treatment induced a significant up-regulation of cytoglobin mRNA level. We stably transfected N2a cells with Cygb-siRNA vectors and successfully knocked down Cygb. The Cygb-siRNA could exacerbate cell death upon H2O2-treatment, as demonstrated by MTT cell viability assay. Thus, Cygb in neuronal cells might be specifically induced under oxidative stress to protect them from death.