Emodin Ameliorates High Glucose-Induced Podocyte Apoptosis via Regulating AMPK/mTOR-Mediated Autophagy Signaling Pathway

Objective To investigate the effect of emodin on high glucose (HG)-induced podocyte apoptosis and whether the potential anti-apoptotic mechanism of emodin is related to induction of adenosine-monophosphate-activated protein kinase (AMPK)/mammalian target of rapamycin (mTOR)-mediated autophagy in podocytes (MPC5 cells) in vitro. Methods MPC5 cells were treated with different concentrations of HG (2.5, 5, 10, 20, 40, 80 and 160 mmol/L), emodin (2, 4, 8 mu mol/L), or HG (40 mmol/L) and emodin (4 mu mol/L) with or without rapamycin (Rap, 100 nmol/L) and compound C (10 mu mol/L). The viability and apoptosis of MPC5 cells were detected using cell counting kit-8 (CCK-8) assay and flow cytometry analysis, respectively. The expression levels of cleaved caspase-3, autophagy marker light chain 3 (LC3) I/II, and AMPK/mTOR signaling pathway-related proteins were determined by Western blot. The changes of morphology and RFP-LC3 fluorescence were observed under microscopy. Results HG at 20, 40, 80 and 160 mmol/L dose-dependently induced cell apoptosis in MPC5 cells, whereas emodin (4 mu mol/L) significantly ameliorated HG-induced cell apoptosis and caspase-3 cleavage (P<0.01). Emodin (4 mu mol/L) significantly increased LC3-II protein expression levels and induced RFP-LC3-containing punctate structures in MPC5 cells (P<0.01). Furthermore, the protective effects of emodin were mimicked by rapamycin (100 nmol/L). Moreover, emodin increased the phosphorylation of AMPK and suppressed the phosphorylation of mTOR. The AMPK inhibitor compound C (10 mu mol/L) reversed emodin-induced autophagy activation. Conclusion Emodin ameliorated HG-induced apoptosis of MPC5 cells in vitro that involved induction of autophagy through the AMPK/mTOR signaling pathway, which might provide a potential therapeutic option for diabetic nephropathy.