Abstract: Objective: To investigate the protective effect and underlying mechanism of oligomeric grape seed proanthocyanidins (O-GSP) on cisplatin (CDDP)-induced mitochondrial damage in HEK293 cells. Methods: The contents of malondialdehyde (MDA), reduced glutathione (GSH) and reactive oxygen species (ROS) and the activities of hexokinase (HK), lactate dehydrogenase (LDH) and malic?dehydrogenase (MDH) were measured with relative reagent kit, and the ATP level, mitochondrial membrane potential and apoptosis rate in HEK293 cells treated by O-GSP and/or CDDP were determined by flow cytometry. Results showed that O-GSP pretreatment significantly attenuated the changes in MDA, reduced GSH and ROS contents caused by CDDP. Moreover, O-GSP significantly inhibited the decrease in ATP level and mitochondrial membrane potential and abnormal?glucose metabolism induced by CDDP (P < 0.01), thus alleviating mitochondrial damage and reducing apoptosis in HEK293 cells (P < 0.01). Conclusion: O-GSP has an antagonistic effect on CDDP-induced mitochondrial damage in HEK293 cells, which is likely to be associated with the antioxidant activity of O-GSP.

Key words: oligomeric grape seed proanthocyanidins, cisplatin, HEK293 cells, mitochondria, apoptosis