Vitamin D Attenuates Foxol-Target Muscle Atrophy Gene Expression
Ann Nutr Metab 2019;75(suppl 3): 275 Yasutomi Kamei
Background/Aims: Skeletal muscle is the largest organ in the human body and it plays important roles in exercise, energy expenditure, and glucose/amino acid metabolism. Various conditions, such as bedrest, aging, certain diseases, and glucocorticoid treatment, cause muscle atrophy, thereby decreasing quality of life. FOXO1 is a forkhead-type transcription factor that antagonizes insulin-mediated anabolic signals. We previously found that FOXO1 gene expression was induced in various muscle atrophy conditions and that it caused muscle atrophy by upregulating atrophy-related genes, including atrogin-1 (ubiquitin ligase) and cathepsin L (lysosomal proteinase).
These findings indicate that FOXO1 in skeletal muscle plays an important role in muscle atrophy. Thus, identifying compounds that suppress FOXO1 transcriptional activity could be useful in preventing muscle atrophy.
Methods: In the present study, we used a GAL-FOXO1 reporter system to search food components/agents that suppress FOXO1 transcriptional activity. We screened 520 commercially available food components and found 1,25(OH)2 vitamin D3 that suppressed FOXO1 transcriptional activity most strongly. Moreover, vitamin D suppressed glucocorticoid-induced gene expression of atrogin-1 and cathepsin L in C2C12 myoblasts.
Results: Based on the data in this study, 1,25(OH)2 vitamin D3 appears to suppress FOXO1 transcriptional activity and its target atrophy-related gene expression. Vitamin D is known to be a promising agent in preventing aging atrophy (sarcopenia), but its molecular mechanism remains unclear. This study may shed light on the mechanism of preventing sarcopenia by oral vitamin D supplementation.