Toxicity of a treatment associating dopamine and disulfiram for catecholaminergic neuroblastoma SH-SY5Y cells: relationships with 3,4-dihydroxyphenylacetaldehyde formation.

3,4-Dihydroxyphenylacetaldehyde (DOPAL) is formed by the oxidative deamination of dopamine (DA) catalyzed by monoamine oxidases (MAO); then, the aldehyde is oxidized to 3,4-dihydroxyphenylacetic acid (DOPAC) by aldehyde dehydrogenases (ALDH) or reduced to 3,4-dihydroxyphenylethanol (DOPET) by aldose/aldehyde reductases. The present work aimed at evaluating the in vitro toxicity of DOPAL on catecholaminergic neuroblastoma SH-SY5Y cells which accumulate DA. DOPAL synthesis was stimulated by incubating cells with DA and blocking DOPAL oxidation by disulfiram, an irreversible inhibitor of ALDH.