Gigantol has Protective Effects against High Glucose-Evoked Nephrotoxicity in Mouse Glomerulus Mesangial Cells by Suppressing ROS/MAPK/NF-κB Signaling Pathways

• Published in: Molecules (Basel, Switzerland) Vol. 24; no. 1; p. 80
• Main Authors: Chen, Mei-Fen, Liou, Shorong-Shii, Hong, Tang-Yao, Kao, Shung-Te, Liu, I-Min
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: Switzerland MDPI AG 26-12-2018; MDPI
• Subjects: Adenosine triphosphate; Animals; Antioxidants; Apoptosis; Apoptosis - drug effects; ATP; BAX protein; Bcl-2 protein; Bibenzyls - pharmacology; Bioactive compounds; Biological activity; Cataracts; Cell injury; Cell Line; Cell Survival - drug effects; Cells, Cultured; Chemical compounds; Chinese medicine; Complications; Cytochrome; Cytochrome c; Depletion; Diabetes; Diabetes mellitus; Diabetic Nephropathies - etiology; Diabetic Nephropathies - metabolism; Diabetic nephropathy; Drug development; gigantol; Glomerulus; Glucose; Glucose - metabolism; Glucose - pharmacology; Guaiacol - analogs & derivatives; Guaiacol - pharmacology; high glucose; Hyperglycemia; Kidneys; Kinases; Lipid Peroxidation; Lipids; Malondialdehyde; MAP kinase; Membrane potential; MES-13 cells; Mesangial cells; Mesangial Cells - drug effects; Mesangial Cells - metabolism; Mice; Mitochondria; Mitochondria - drug effects; Mitochondria - metabolism; mitogen-activated protein kinase; Mitogen-Activated Protein Kinases - metabolism; Nephropathy; NF-kappa B - metabolism; NF-κB; Oxidative stress; Oxidative Stress - drug effects; Pathogenesis; Pharmacology; Protective Agents - pharmacology; Protein expression; Protein kinase; Proteins; Reactive Oxygen Species - metabolism; Renal function; Signal transduction; Signal Transduction - drug effects; mitogen-activated protein kinase; NF-κB; MES-13 cells; gigantol; high glucose; diabetic nephropathy
• DOI: 10.3390/molecules24010080
• EISSN: 1420-3049

Gigantol is a bibenzyl compound derived from several medicinal orchids. This biologically active compound has shown promising therapeutic potential against diabetic cataracts, but whether this compound exerts beneficial effects on the other diabetic microvascular complications remains unclear. This study was carried out to examine effects of gigantol on high glucose-induced renal cell injury in cultured mouse kidney mesangial cells (MES-13). MES-13 cells were pretreated with gigantol (1, 5, 10 or 20 μmol/L) for 1 h followed by further exposure to high (33.3 mmol/L) glucose for 48 h. Gigantol concentration dependently enhanced cell viability followed by high glucose treatment in MES-13 cells. High glucose induced reactive oxygen species (ROS) generation, malondialdehyde production and glutathione deficiency were recoved in MES-13 cells pretreated with gigantol. High glucose triggered cell apoptosis via the the loss of mitochondrial membrane potential, depletion of adenosine triphosphate, upregulation of caspases 9 and 3, enhancement of cytochrome c release, and subsequent interruption of the Bax/Bcl-2 balance. These detrimental effects were ameliorated by gigantol. High glucose also induced activation of JNK, p38 mitogen-activated protein kinase (MAPK) and nuclear factor-κB (NF-κB) in MES-13 cells, which were blocked by gigantol. The results suggest that treatment MES-13 cells with gigantol halts high glucose-induced renal dysfunction through the suppression of the ROS/MAPK/NF-κB signaling pathways. Our data are of value to the understanding the mechanism for gigantol, and would benefit the study of drug development or food supplement for diabetes and nephropathy.