The omega-3 fatty acid, eicosapentaenoic acid (EPA), prevents the damaging effects of Tumour Necrosis Factor (TNF)-alphaduring murine skeletal muscle cell differentiation
Eicosapentaenoic acid (EPA) is an omega-3 polyunsaturated fatty acid with anti-inflammatory and anti-cachetic properties that may have potential benefits with regards to skeletal muscle atrophy conditions where inflammation is present. It is also reported that pathologic levels of the pro-inflammatory cytokine tumour necrosis factor (TNF)-alpha are associated with muscle wasting, exerted through inhibition of myogenic differentiation and enhanced apoptosis.
These findings led us to hypothesize that EPA may have a protective effect against skeletal muscle damage induced by the actions of TNF-alpha.
Results: The deleterious effects of TNF-alpha on C2C12 myogenesis were completely inhibited by co-treatment with EPA. Thus, EPA prevented the TNF-mediated loss of MyHC expression and restored myogenic fusion and myotube diameter indices back to control levels.
EPA protective activity was associated with blocking cell death pathways as EPA completely attenuated TNF-mediated increases in caspase-8 activity and cellular necrosis back to their respective control levels. EPA alone significantly reduced spontaneous apoptosis and necrosis of differentiating myotubes (p<0.001 and p<0.05, respectively).
A 2 hour pre-treatment with EPA, prior to treatment with TNF alone, gave similar results.
Conclusion: In conclusion, EPA has a protective action against the damaging effects of TNF-alpha on C2C12 myogenesis. These findings support further investigations of EPA as a potential therapeutic agent during skeletal muscle regeneration following injury.
Author: Peter Magee, Stephen Pearson and Jeremy Allen
Credits/Source: Lipids in Health and Disease 2008, 7:24
Published on: 2008-07-18
Copyright by the authors listed above - made available via BioMedCentral (Open Access). Please
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