Carnosol attenuated atrophy of C2C12 myotubes induced by tumour-derived exosomal miR-183-5p through inhibiting Smad3 pathway activation and keeping mitochondrial respiration.

Cancer-derived exosomes are involved in the development of cancer cachexia. Carnosol, which exhibited ameliorating effects on cancer cachexia of C26 tumour-bearing mice in our previous study, alleviated atrophy of C2C12 myotubes induced by exosomes of C26 tumour cells in the present study. MiR-183-5p was found to be rich in C26 cells and C26 exosomes, and miR-183-5p mimic could directly induce atrophy of C2C12 myotubes. Carnosol at 5 to 20 μM could dose-dependently ameliorate the myotube atrophy induced by miR-183-5p. Four and a half LIM domain protein 1 (FHL1) was shown to be the direct target of miR-183-5p. Increase in myostatin, p-Smad3, MuRF-1, Atrogin-1, HIF-1α and p-STAT3 and decrease in mitochondrial respiration were also induced by miR-183-5p mimic in C2C12 myotubes. Carnosol could not affect the decrease in FHL-1 and the activation of STAT3 pathway but could significantly alleviate the increase in myostatin, p-Smad3, MuRF-1, Atrogin-1 and the decrease in mitochondrial respiration induced by miR-183-5p. The protective effects of carnosol on myotubes against atrophy of C2C12 myotubes induced by miR-183-5p, based on both its inhibiting effects on MuRF-1 and Atrogin-1-mediated protein degradation and its ability of keeping the mitochondrial respiration, might contribute to its ameliorating effects on cancer cachexia.