Leonurine protects against dexamethasone-induced cytotoxicity in pancreatic β-cells via PI3K/Akt signaling pathway.

In this study, we evaluated the effect of leonurine on dexamethasone -treated β-cells. Our data showed that leonurine inhibited dexamethasone-induced INS-1 cell apoptosis and facilitated cell proliferation. Moreover, leonurine attenuated dexamethasone-impaired insulin secretion in mice islets. Leonurine ameliorated dexamethasone-induced dephosphorylation of Akt, Bad and GSK-3β. Importantly, the protective role of leonurine on dexamethasone-induced cytotoxicity was blocked by LY294002 in INS-1 cells. Our findings revealed for the first time that leonurine could protect against dexamethasone-induced cytotoxicity in pancreatic β-cells via PI3K/Akt signaling pathway, suggesting leonurine may be a promising therapeutic agent for steroid diabetes. PMID: 32736688 [PubMed - as supplied by publisher]
Source: Biochemical and Biophysical Research communications - Category: Biochemistry Authors: Tags: Biochem Biophys Res Commun Source Type: research