title: Melatonin behavior in restoring chemical damaged C2C12 myoblasts.
abstract: It is known that, besides a wide range of functions, melatonin provides protection against oxidative stress, thanks to its ability to act, directly, as a free radical scavenger and, indirectly, by stimulating antioxidant enzymes production and mitochondrial electron transport chain efficiency. Oxidative stress is one of the major players in initiating apoptotic cell death in skeletal muscle, as well as in other tissues. Apoptosis is essential for skeletal muscle development and homeostasis; nevertheless, its misregulation has been frequently observed in several myopathies, in sarcopenia, as well as in denervation and disuse. Melatonin activity was investigated in undifferentiated C2C12 skeletal muscle cells, after exposure to various apoptotic chemical triggers, chosen for their different mechanisms of action. Cells were pretreated with melatonin and then exposed to hydrogen peroxide, etoposide and staurosporine. Morphofunctional and molecular analyses show that in myoblasts melatonin prevents oxidative stress and apoptosis induced by chemicals following, at least in part, the mitochondria pathway. These results confirm melatonin ability to act as an antioxidant and antiapoptotic molecule in skeletal muscle cells, thus suggesting a possible therapeutic strategy for myopathies involving apoptosis misregulation. Microsc. Res. Tech. 79:532-540, 2016. © 2016 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.
authors.affiliation: Department of Biomolecular Sciences, University of Urbino Carlo Bo, Urbino, 61029, Italy.
authors.forename: Sara
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Salucci
authors.affiliation: Department of Biomolecular Sciences, University of Urbino Carlo Bo, Urbino, 61029, Italy.
authors.forename: Valentina
authors.initials: V
authors.lastname: Baldassarri
authors.affiliation: Department of Biomolecular Sciences, University of Urbino Carlo Bo, Urbino, 61029, Italy.
authors.forename: Barbara
authors.initials: B
authors.lastname: Canonico
authors.affiliation: Department of Biomolecular Sciences, University of Urbino Carlo Bo, Urbino, 61029, Italy.
authors.forename: Sabrina
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Burattini
authors.affiliation: Department of Biomolecular Sciences, University of Urbino Carlo Bo, Urbino, 61029, Italy.
authors.forename: Michela
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Battistelli
authors.affiliation: Department of Biomolecular Sciences, University of Urbino Carlo Bo, Urbino, 61029, Italy.
authors.forename: Michele
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Guescini
authors.affiliation: Department of Biomolecular Sciences, University of Urbino Carlo Bo, Urbino, 61029, Italy.
authors.forename: Stefano
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Papa
authors.affiliation: Department of Biomolecular Sciences, University of Urbino Carlo Bo, Urbino, 61029, Italy.
authors.forename: Vilberto
authors.initials: V
authors.lastname: Stocchi
authors.affiliation: Department of Biomolecular Sciences, University of Urbino Carlo Bo, Urbino, 61029, Italy.
authors.forename: Elisabetta
authors.initials: E
authors.lastname: Falcieri
mesh_terms: D000818:Animals; D017209:Apoptosis / Q000187:drug effects*; D002460:Cell Line; D002470:Cell Survival; D005047:Etoposide / Q000633:toxicity; D006861:Hydrogen Peroxide / Q000633:toxicity; D008550:Melatonin / Q000494:pharmacology*; D051379:Mice; D018613:Microscopy, Confocal; D046529:Microscopy, Electron, Transmission; D008928:Mitochondria; D032446:Myoblasts / Q000187:drug effects*; D018384:Oxidative Stress / Q000187:drug effects*; D020011:Protective Agents / Q000494:pharmacology*; D019311:Staurosporine / Q000633:toxicity
chemical_list: D020011:Protective Agents; D005047:Etoposide; D006861:Hydrogen Peroxide; D019311:Staurosporine; D008550:Melatonin
keywords: melatonin; mitochondria; oxidative stress; skeletal muscle apoptosis