Seok-Woo Hong, Jinmi Lee, Sun Joon Moon, Hyemi Kwon, Se Eun Park, Eun-Jung Rhee, Won-Young Lee
BACKGROUND: Polyunsaturated fatty acids (PUFAs) reportedly have protective effects on pancreatic β-cells; however, the underlying mechanisms are unknown. METHODS: To investigate the cellular mechanism of PUFA-induced cell protection, mouse insulinoma 6 (MIN6) cells were cultured with palmitic acid (PA) and/or docosahexaenoic acid (DHA), and alterations in cellular signaling and apoptosis were examined. RESULTS: DHA treatment remarkably repressed caspase-3 cleavage and terminal deoxynucleotidyl transferase-mediated UTP nick end labeling (TUNEL)-positive red dot signals in PA-treated MIN6 cells, with upregulation of autophagy, an increase in microtubule- associated protein 1-light chain 3 (LC3)-II, autophagy-related 5 (Atg5), and decreased p62...
January 23, 2024: Endocrinology and Metabolism