# Sodium Nitroprusside as a Xenobiotic Model of Oxidative and Nitrosative Stress in Cellular and Zebrafish Systems

## TL;DR

This study explores how sodium nitroprusside causes oxidative and nitrosative stress in cells and zebrafish, offering a model for studying neurodegenerative diseases.

## Contribution

The study introduces an integrative model using SNP to induce nitrosative stress in both cellular and zebrafish systems for preclinical neurotoxicity evaluation.

## Key findings

- mHippoE-18 cells showed higher susceptibility to SNP-induced oxidative and nitrosative stress compared to PC12 cells.
- Zebrafish larvae exposed to SNP exhibited dose-dependent metabolic and behavioral impairments linked to energy metabolism.
- The study demonstrates that cellular responses to SNP partially mirror in vivo outcomes in zebrafish.

## Abstract

Oxidative and nitrosative stress are central mechanisms in the pathogenesis of neurodegenerative diseases, where excessive production of reactive oxygen and nitrogen species (ROS/RNS) leads to mitochondrial dysfunction, membrane damage, and neuronal death. In this study, we established and compared short-term (2 h) and long-term (20 h) exposure paradigms to sodium nitroprusside (SNP), used as a xenobiotic nitric oxide donor, in two neuronal cell lines (mHippoE-18 and PC12) and zebrafish larvae, aiming to provide a preclinical framework for neurodegenerative drug discovery. In vitro, SNP exposure caused concentration-dependent reductions in viability and alterations in oxidative balance, with mHippoE-18 cells exhibiting higher susceptibility than PC12 cells. In the short-term exposure paradigm, cytotoxicity was primarily associated with membrane disruption at higher concentrations, whereas oxidative stress contributed more strongly at intermediate doses. In the long-term exposure, mHippoE-18 cells showed strong integrated correlations between ROS, LDH release, and viability loss, highlighting their increased vulnerability to nitrosative stress. In zebrafish, SNP exposure impaired metabolic activity and swimming behavior in both paradigms. Long-term exposure led to consistent dose-dependent increases in ROS, accompanied by locomotor deficits tightly linked to energy metabolism. Overall, the higher sensitivity of mHippoE-18 cells compared with PC12 cells, together with the dose-dependent metabolic and behavioral impairments observed in zebrafish, indicates that cellular responses partially mirror in vivo outcomes. This integrative approach underscores the value of combining neuronal cell lines with zebrafish larvae to capture complementary aspects of SNP-induced neurotoxicity and to strengthen preclinical evaluation of candidate compounds with protective or therapeutic potential. These findings support the use of SNP as a xenobiotic model to probe nitrosative stress-driven neurotoxicity across cellular and organismal systems.