The Preconditioning of Berberine Suppresses Hydrogen Peroxide-Induced Premature Senescence via Regulation of Sirtuin 1

Oxid Med Cell Longev. 2017:2017:2391820. doi: 10.1155/2017/2391820. Epub 2017 Jul 2.

Abstract

With a long history of application in Chinese traditional medicine, berberine (BBR) was reported to exhibit healthspan-extending properties in some age-related diseases, such as type 2 diabetes and atherosclerosis. However, the antiaging mechanism of BBR is not completely clear. By means of hydrogen peroxide- (H2O2-) induced premature cellular senescence model, we found that a low-concentration preconditioning of BBR could resist premature senescence in human diploid fibroblasts (HDFs) measured by senescence-associated β-galactosidase (SA-β-gal), accompanied by a decrease in loss of mitochondrial membrane potential and production of intracellular reactive oxygen species (ROS). Moreover, the low-concentration preconditioning of BBR could make cells less susceptible to subsequent H2O2-induced cell cycle arrest and growth inhibition. Experimental results further showed that the low concentration of BBR could induce a slight increase of ROS and upregulate the expression level of sirtuin 1 (SIRT1), an important longevity regulator. H2O2-induced activation of checkpoint kinase 2 (Chk2) was significantly attenuated after the preconditioning of BBR. The present findings implied that the low-concentration preconditioning of BBR could have a mitohormetic effect against cellular senescence triggered by oxidative stress in some age-related diseases through the regulation of SIRT1.

MeSH terms

  • Berberine / pharmacology*
  • Cell Line
  • Cellular Senescence / drug effects*
  • Checkpoint Kinase 2 / metabolism
  • Fibroblasts / metabolism*
  • Humans
  • Hydrogen Peroxide / pharmacology*
  • Oxidative Stress / drug effects*
  • Sirtuin 1 / metabolism*

Substances

  • Berberine
  • Hydrogen Peroxide
  • Checkpoint Kinase 2
  • CHEK2 protein, human
  • SIRT1 protein, human
  • Sirtuin 1