Anti-apoptotic effects of diosgenin on ovariectomized hearts

• Published in: Steroids 2022-03, Vol.179, p.108980-108980, Article 108980
• Main Authors: Wu, Xu-Bo, Lai, Chin-Hu, Ho, Ying-Jui, Kuo, Chia-Hua, Lai, Pei-Fang, Tasi, Ching-Yi, Jin, Guohua, Wei, Minqian, Asokan Shibu, Marthandam, Huang, Chih-Yang, Lee, Shin-Da
• Format: Article
• Language: English
• Subjects: Animals; Apoptosis; Caspase; Diosgenin; Diosgenin - metabolism; Diosgenin - pharmacology; fas Receptor - metabolism; Female; Heart; Humans; Menopause; Myocardium - metabolism; Oophorectomy; Ovariectomy; Rats; Rats, Wistar
• ISSN: 0039-128X; 1878-5867
• DOI: 10.1016/j.steroids.2022.108980

[Display omitted] •Diosgenin, a steroid saponin, attenuate ovariectomy-induced cardiac apoptosis.•Diosgenin attenuate ovariectomy-induced cardiac Fas Ligand, Fas receptor, and FADD.•Diosgenin attenuate ovariectomy-induced cardiac t-Bid, Bax, Bad, and Bax/Bcl2.•Diosgenin attenuate ovariectomy-induced cardiac activated caspase 8, 9, and 3. The anti-apoptotic effects of diosgenin, a steroid saponin, on hearts in female with estrogen deficiency have been less studied. This study aimed to evaluate the anti-apoptotic effects of diosgenin on cardiac widely dispersed apoptosis in a bilateral ovariectomized animal model. A total of 60 female Wistar rats, aged 6–7 months, were divided into the sham-operated group (Sham), bilateral ovariectomized rats for 2 months, and ovariectomized rats administered with 0, 10, 50, or 100 mg/kg diosgenin daily (OVX, OVX 10, OVX 50, and OVX 100, respectively) in the second month. The excised hearts were analyzed by H&E staining, TUNEL(+) assays and Western Blot. Cardiac TUNEL(+) apoptotic cells, the levels of Fas ligand, Fas death receptors, Fas-associated death domain, active caspase-8, and active caspase-3 (FasL/Fas-mediated pathways) as well as the levels of Bax, Bad, Bax/Bcl2, Bad/p-Bad, cytosolic Cytochrome c, active caspase-9, and active caspase-3 (mitochondria-initiated pathway) were increased in OVX compared with Sham group but those were decreased in OVX 50 compared with OVX. Diosgenin appeared to prevent or suppress ovariectomy-induced cardiac FasL/Fas-mediated and mitochondria-initiated apoptosis. These findings might provide one of the possible therapeutic approaches of diosgenin for potentially preventing cardiac apoptosis in women after bilateral ovariectomy or women with estrogen deficiency.