School of Pharmacy, College of Pharmacy, Kaohsiung Medical University, Kaohsiung City 807, Taiwan.
Department of Medical Research, China Medical University Hospital, China Medical University, Taichung 404, Taiwan.
Molecules. 2020 Jul 17;25(14):3267. doi: 10.3390/molecules25143267.
Glucocorticoids are widely used anti-inflammatory drugs in clinical settings. However, they can induce skeletal muscle atrophy by reducing fiber cross-sectional area and myofibrillar protein content. Studies have proven that antioxidants can improve glucocorticoid-induced skeletal muscle atrophy. Quercetin is a potent antioxidant flavonoid widely distributed in fruits and vegetables and has shown protective effects against dexamethasone-induced skeletal muscle atrophy. In this study, we demonstrated that dexamethasone significantly inhibited cell growth and induced cell apoptosis by stimulating hydroxyl free radical production in C2C12 skeletal muscle cells. Our results evidenced that quercetin increased C2C12 skeletal cell viability and exerted antiapoptotic effects on dexamethasone-treated C2C12 cells by regulating mitochondrial membrane potential (ΔΨm) and reducing oxidative species. Quercetin can protect against dexamethasone-induced muscle atrophy by regulating the Bax/Bcl-2 ratio at the protein level and abnormal ΔΨm, which leads to the suppression of apoptosis.
糖皮质激素是临床中广泛应用的抗炎药物。然而，它们通过减少纤维横截面积和肌原纤维蛋白含量来诱导骨骼肌萎缩。研究已经证明抗氧化剂可以改善糖皮质激素诱导的骨骼肌萎缩。槲皮素是一种广泛存在于水果和蔬菜中的强效抗氧化类黄酮，已被证明对地塞米松诱导的骨骼肌萎缩具有保护作用。在本研究中，我们证明地塞米松通过刺激 C2C12 骨骼肌细胞中羟自由基的产生，显著抑制细胞生长并诱导细胞凋亡。我们的结果表明，槲皮素通过调节线粒体膜电位 (ΔΨm) 和减少氧化应激来增加 C2C12 骨骼肌细胞的活力，并对用地塞米松处理的 C2C12 细胞发挥抗凋亡作用。槲皮素可以通过调节蛋白水平的 Bax/Bcl-2 比值和异常的 ΔΨm 来防止地塞米松诱导的肌肉萎缩，从而抑制细胞凋亡。
