Pentylenetetrazol modulates redox system by inducing addicsin translocation from endoplasmic reticulum to plasma membrane in NG108-15 cells

Addicsin (Arl6ip5) is a multifunctional physiological and pathophysiological regulator that exerts its effects by readily forming homo- and hetero-complexes with various functional factors. In particular, addicsin acts as a negative modulator of neural glutamate transporter excitatory amino acid carrier 1 (EAAC1) and participates in the regulation of intracellular glutathione (GSH) content by negatively modulating EAAC1-mediated cysteine and glutamate uptake. Addicsin is considered to play a crucial role in the onset of neurodegenerative diseases including epilepsy. However, the molecular dynamics of addicsin remains largely unknown. Here, we report the dynamics of addicsin in NG108-15 cells upon exposure to pentylenetetrazol (PTZ), a representative epileptogenic agent acting on the gamma-Aminobutyric acid A (GABAA) receptor. Fluorescent immunostaining analysis demonstrated that addicsin drastically changed its localization from the endoplasmic reticulum (ER) to the plasma membrane within 1 h of PTZ exposure in a dose-dependent manner. Moreover, addicsin was co-localized with the plasma membrane markers EAAC1 and Na+/K+ ATPase alpha-3 upon PTZ stimulation. This translocation was significantly inhibited by a non-competitive GABAA receptor antagonist, picrotoxin, but not by a competitive GABAA receptor antagonist, bicuculline. Furthermore, lactate dehydrogenase (LDH) assay and 2,2-diphenyl-1-picrylhydrazyl (DPPH) radical-scavenging assay showed that PTZ-induced addicsin translocation was accompanied by a decrease of radical-scavenging activity and an increase of cytotoxicity in a PTZ dose-dependent manner. These findings suggest that PTZ induces the translocation of addicsin from the ER to the plasma membrane and modulates the redox system by regulating EAAC1-mediated GSH synthesis, which leads to the activation of cell death signaling.