Hydrogen Sulfide Donor NaHS Improves Metabolism and Reduces Muscle Atrophy in Type 2 Diabetes: Implication for Understanding Sarcopenic Pathophysiology

Figure 4

Impaired antioxidant capacity and enhanced macromolecule oxidation in atrophied diabetic muscles. (a–d) Glutathione levels in terms of reduced and oxidized form (a) as well as the activities (b and c) and mRNA expression (d) of key enzymes involved in glutathione metabolism including glutathione reductase and glutamate cysteine ligase were determined using either spectrophotometric or RT-PCR-based technique. (e and f) Oxidation of macromolecules including muscle contents of malondialdehyde (MDA) (e) and protein-bound carbonyls (f), indicators for lipid peroxidation and global protein oxidation, respectively, was measured using commercially available Elisa assays. Myostatin levels in plasma (g) and muscle (h) were assessed as described in Materials and Methods. RT-PCR and Western blot were used to assess TGF-β mRNA expression (h) and its downstream signaling molecules Smad2/3 and p-Smad2/3 (i). Serum and muscle levels of 8-OHdG were analyzed by Elisa assays. Abbreviation: C: control; D: diabetic. Values are for at least 6 animals/group. Significantly different from corresponding control values at .

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