Melatonin protects against chromium(VI)-induced cardiac injury via activating the AMPK/Nrf2 pathway.

Melatonin protects against chromium(VI)-induced cardiac injury via activating the AMPK/Nrf2 pathway. J Inorg Biochem. 2019 Apr 25;197:110698 Authors: Li J, Zheng X, Ma X, Xu X, Du Y, Lv Q, Li X, Wu Y, Sun H, Yu L, Zhang Z Abstract Chromium (Cr) threatens health by causing oxidative stress. However, effective therapy for cardiac damage mediated by potassium dichromate (K2Cr2O7) still has not been defined. Melatonin (MT) possesses a number of biological activities. Our study was performed to explore the effect and mechanism of MT on Cr(VI)-induced cardiac damage by conducting both in vitro and in vivo studies. Twenty eight male Wistar rats were randomly assigned to four groups: control, MT (20 mg/kg subcutaneously), K2Cr2O7 (4 mg/kg intraperitoneally), and K2Cr2O7 + MT. We measured biomarkers of oxidative stress and cardiac function, and performed histopathological analysis, assay of terminal deoxynucleotidyl transferase-mediated deoxyuracil nucleoside triphosphate nick end labeling and protein levels, and the viability assay of cultured cardiomyocytes in vitro. Our results showed that MT ameliorated K2Cr2O7-induced oxidative stress, apoptosis, and the release of inflammatory mediators in the rat heart. MT also promoted adenosine monophosphate-activated protein kinase (AMPK) phosphorylation, upregulated expression of proteins that nuclear factor erythroid 2-related factor 2 (Nrf2), heme oxygenase-1, and nicotinamide adenine din...
Source: Journal of Inorganic Biochemistry - Category: Biochemistry Authors: Tags: J Inorg Biochem Source Type: research