Tacrine (THA) is a competitive inhibitor of cholinesterase. Administration of THA for the treatment of Alzheimer’s disease results in a reversible hepatotoxicity in 30–50% of patients, as indicated by elevated alanine aminotransferase levels. However, the intracellular mechanisms have not yet been elucidated. In our previous study, we found that THA induced cytotoxicity and mitochondria dysfunction by ROS generation and 8-OHdG formation in mitochondrial DNA in HepG2 cells. In this study, the mechanism underlying was further investigated. Our results demonstrated that THA induced dose-dependent apoptosis with cytochrome c release and activation of caspase-3. THA-induced apoptosis was inhibited by treating cells with a ROS inhibitor, YCG063. In addition, we observed that THA led to an early lysosomal membrane permeabilization and release of cathepsin B. Pretreatment with CA-074Me, a specific cathepsin B inhibitor resulted in a significant but not complete decrease in tacrine-induced apoptosis. These data suggest that tacrine-induced cell apoptosis involves both mitochondrial damage and lysosomal membrane destabilization, and ROS is the critical factor that integrates tacrine-induced mitochondrial and lysosomal death pathways.
