Neuronal NMB cells were used to determine changes in gene expression upon treatment with dopamine. Twelve differentially expressed cDNAs were identified and cloned, one of them having 99.4% sequence homology with isoform 2 of a voltage-dependent anion channel (VDAC-2). The known role of VDAC, a mitochondrial outer-membrane protein, in transport of anions, pore formation, and release of cytochrome C prompted us to investigate the possible role of VDAC gene family in dopamine-induced apoptosis. Semi-quantitative PCR analysis indicated that expression of the three VDAC isoforms was reduced by dopamine. Immunoblotting with anti-VDAC antibodies detected two VDAC protein bands of 33 and 34 kDa. Dopamine decreased differentially the immunoreactivity of the 34 kDa protein. Whether the decrease in VDAC expression influence the mitochondrial membrane potential (DYm) was determined with the dye Rhodamine-123. Dopamine indeed decreased the mitochondrial DYm, but the maximum effect was observed within 3 h, prior to the decrease in VDAC mRNA or protein levels. Cyclosporin A, a blocker of the mitochondrial pore complex, prevented the decrease in DYm, but did not rescue the cells from dopamine toxicity. To elucidate possible involvement of protease caspases in dopamine-induced apoptosis, the effect of the caspase inhibitor z-Val-Ala-Asp(Ome)-FMK (zVAD) was determined. zVAD decreased dopamine toxicity, yet it did not rescue the mitochondrial DYm drop. Dopamine also decreased ATP levels. Finally, transfection of NMB cells with pcDNA-VDAC decreased the cytotoxic effect of dopamine. These findings are in agreement with the notion that the mitochondria, and VDAC, are important participants in dopamine-induced apoptosis. It is now well established that dopamine triggers programmed neuronal cell death (apoptosis) in cultured cells (Ziv et al. 1994;Simantov et al. 1996;Coronas et al. 1997;Junn and Mouradian 2001). Oxidation products and reactive oxygen species (Jenner et al. 1992;Korsmeyer 1995), lipid peroxidation (Groc et al. 2001), depletion in glutathione (Riederer et al. 1989;Sofic et al. 1992;Gabbay et al. 1996), and other neurochemical changes (Olanow 1993) may be responsible for dopamine toxicity. The neurotoxins 1-methyl-4-phenyl-1,2,3,6,-tetrahydropyridine (MPTP) and rotenone, often used as experimental models for Parkinson's disease, interact with the mitochondria and inhibit complex I activity (Gerlach et al. 1991;Cleeter et al. 1992;Tipton and Singer 1993). As to dopamine, however, the question of direct or indirect interaction with the mitochondria, and the potential molecular targets, is still enigmatic.Programmed cell death may be triggered by activation of mitochondria-dependent or -independent pathways, as reviewed by others (Green and Reed 1998;Li and Yuan 1999;Orth and Schapira 2001). The signaling pathway leading to apoptosis via the mitochondria is triggered by the binding of proteins of the Bcl 2 family, such as Bcl 2 , Bax and Bad, to the mitochondrial outer membrane. This interaction forms large pores i...