Nambiar_2005_Chem.Biol.Interact_157-158_409

We investigated whether transcriptional inducers could enhance the expression of acetylcholinesterase (AChE) in cell lines to achieve protection against organophosphate (OP) poisoning. Trichostatin A (TSA), an inhibitor of histone deacetylase that de-condenses chromatin and increases the binding of transcription factors and mRNA synthesis, induced three- to four-fold extracellular and 8-10-fold intracellular AChE expression at the optimal dose of 165-333 nM in Neuro 2A cells. Pre-treatment with TSA protected against OP exposure. Thus, transcriptional inducers, such as TSA, up-regulate AChE, which then can scavenge the OP and protect the cells from OP-induced toxicity, and are potential novel ways to treat chemical warfare nerve agent (CWNA) exposure.