title: Polysaccharide from Fuzi likely protects against starvation-induced cytotoxicity in H9c2 cells by increasing autophagy through activation of the AMPK/mTOR pathway.
abstract: There is increasing evidence that starvation induces autophagy, which may be protective during starvation, in an AMPK-dependent manner. Polysaccharides from Fuzi (FPS) reportedly have protective effects on nutrition-limited livers. The present study was designed to determine whether FPS protected H9c2 cells against starvation-induced cytotoxicity using an AMPK/mTOR-dependent mechanism. H9c2 cells were incubated in serum and glucose starvation media for 12 hours to establish a cell injury model. 3-Methyladenine (3MA, an autophagy inhibitor) was used to identify the exact role of autophagy in starvation. Cells were incubated with different FPS concentrations, and the cell injury levels, autophagy activity and AMPK/mTOR phosphorylation were measured. Adenine 9-β-D-arabinofuranoside (Ara-A, an AMPK inhibitor) and 5-amino-4-imidazole-carboxamide riboside (AICAR, an AMPK activator) were used to identify whether the AMPK/mTOR pathway was involved in FPS-mediated cardioprotection. We demonstrated that starvation decreased cell viability in a time-dependent manner, and 3MA-induced autophagy inhibition aggravated the reduced cell viability. FPS treatment attenuated the cell viability decrement and the starvation-induced decline in the mitochondrial membrane potential (MMP), and autophagy; also, the AMPK/mTOR pathways were activated during treatment. Ara-A treatment abolished the protective effect of FPS, while AICAR treatment had a similar effect to FPS. We conclude that autophagy attenuates starvation-induced cardiomyocyte death, and FPS increases autophagy activity to protect against starvation-induced cytotoxicity in H9c2 cells, likely through AMPK/mTOR pathway activation.
authors.affiliation: Department of Pathophysiology, Zhongshan Medical School, Sun Yat-Sen University, Guangzhou, Guangdong 510080, P. R. China.
authors.forename: Li-Zhen
authors.initials: LZ
authors.lastname: Liao
authors.forename: Yan-Ling
authors.initials: YL
authors.lastname: Chen
authors.forename: Li-He
authors.initials: LH
authors.lastname: Lu
authors.forename: Yong-Hua
authors.initials: YH
authors.lastname: Zhao
authors.forename: Hua-Lei
authors.initials: HL
authors.lastname: Guo
authors.forename: Wei-Kang
authors.initials: WK
authors.lastname: Wu
mesh_terms: D055372:AMP-Activated Protein Kinases / Q000378:metabolism*; D031841:Aconitum / Q000737:chemistry*; D000818:Animals; D017209:Apoptosis / Q000187:drug effects; D001343:Autophagy / Q000187:drug effects*; D045744:Cell Line, Tumor; D004365:Drugs, Chinese Herbal / Q000494:pharmacology*; D032383:Myocytes, Cardiac / Q000166:cytology* / Q000187:drug effects / Q000378:metabolism; D011134:Polysaccharides / Q000494:pharmacology*; D020011:Protective Agents / Q000494:pharmacology*; D051381:Rats; D015398:Signal Transduction / Q000187:drug effects; D013217:Starvation / Q000150:complications*; D058570:TOR Serine-Threonine Kinases / Q000378:metabolism*
chemical_list: D004365:Drugs, Chinese Herbal; D011134:Polysaccharides; D020011:Protective Agents; D058570:TOR Serine-Threonine Kinases; D055372:AMP-Activated Protein Kinases