It is well known that reactive oxygen species (ROS) attack several living tissues and increase the risk of development and progression of serious diseases. In neuronal level, ROS induce cell death in concentration-dependent fashion. However, little is known about the mechanisms of neuronal changes by ROS prior to induction of cell death. Here we found that treatment of cerebellar granule neurons (CGCs) with 0.5 μM hydrogen peroxide induced axonal injury, but not cell death. The number of dendrites remarkably decreased in hydrogen peroxide-treated CGCs, and extensive beading was observed on survival dendrites. In addition, an abnormal band of the original collapsin response mediator protein (CRMP)-2 was detected by Western blotting in hydrogen peroxide-treated CGCs. Treatment with each tocotrienol isoform prevented axonal and dendrite degeneration and induction of the abnormal band of the original band of CRMP-2 in hydrogen peroxide-treated CGCs. These results indicate that treatment with tocotrienols may therefore be neuroprotective in the presence of hydrogen peroxide by preventing changes to the CRMP-2 that occur before neuron death.
