Platycodon grandiflorus Polysaccharides Alleviate Cr(VI)-Induced Apoptosis in DF-1 Cells via ROS-Drp1 Signal Pathway

Zhuanglong Zhang; Pimiao Zheng; Changxi Qi; Yuehui Cui; Yijian Qi; Kun Xue; Guangwei Yan; Jianzhu Liu

doi:10.3390/life12122144

Platycodon grandiflorus Polysaccharides Alleviate Cr(VI)-Induced Apoptosis in DF-1 Cells via ROS-Drp1 Signal Pathway

Life (Basel). 2022 Dec 19;12(12):2144. doi: 10.3390/life12122144.

Authors

Zhuanglong Zhang¹, Pimiao Zheng², Changxi Qi¹, Yuehui Cui¹, Yijian Qi², Kun Xue², Guangwei Yan², Jianzhu Liu¹

Affiliations

¹ College of Veterinary Medicine, Shandong Agricultural University, Tai'an 271018, China.
² Research Center for Animal Disease Control Engineering, Shandong Agricultural University, Tai'an 271018, China.

Abstract

Hexavalent chromium (Cr(VI)) is a widespread heavy metal that has been identified as a human carcinogen, and acute or chronic exposure to Cr(VI) can cause organ damage. Platycodon grandiflorus polysaccharide (PGPS) is a constituent extracted from the Chinese herb Platycodon grandiflorus, which has various pharmacological effects. Therefore, the author investigated the role of PGPSt in Cr(VI)-induced apoptosis in chicken embryo fibroblast cell lines (DF-1 cells). Firstly, this study infected DF-1 cells using Cr(VI) to set up a model for cytotoxicity and then added PGPSt. Then, the intracellular reactive oxygen species (ROS), mitochondrial membrane potential (MMP), and apoptosis rate were evaluated. The results showed that PGPSt could inhibit Cr(VI)-induced mitochondrial damage and increase the apoptosis rate. For further exploration of the mechanism of regulation of PGPSt, the ROS-Drp1 pathway was investigated. The antioxidant N-acetyl-L-cysteine (NAC) and mitochondrial division inhibitor 1(Mdivi-1) were added, respectively. The results showed that the NAC and Mdivi-1 restored abnormal mitochondrial fission and cell apoptosis. Thus, PGPSt can alleviate Cr(VI)-induced apoptosis of DF-1 cells through the ROS-Drp1 signaling pathway, which may suggest new research ideas for developing new drugs to alleviate Cr(VI) toxicity.

Keywords: Cr(VI); PGPSt; ROS-Drp1 signal pathway; apoptosis.

Grants and funding

The project was supported by the National Natural Science Foundation of China (31872535), and the Tai’an Science and Technology Commissioner Project (2021TPY034).