The most known fullerenes are spherical carbon compounds
composed of 60 carbon atoms. C60 fullerenes have shown
biochemical and biomedical properties in the last years such as as
blockade of apoptosis and neuroprotection. The nucleoside adenosine
has a neuroprotective role mainly due to inhibition of glutamate release,
which is a neurotransmitter related to excitotoxicity and cell death. In
the present work, we have determined the presence of adenosine
receptors in SK-N-MC cells, a neuroepithelioma human cell line, and
analyzed the effect of fullerenes in these receptors by using radioligand
binding, immunoblotting, and quantitative real time PCR assays. Results demonstrated that SK-N-MC cells endogenously express
adenosine receptors. Fullerene exposure of these cells did not affect cell viability measured by MTT reduction assay. However,
adenosine A1 and A2A receptors were both increased in SK-N-MC cells after treatment. These results suggest for the first time the
modulation of adenosine receptors after C60 fullerenes exposure.
