EFFECTS OF FATTY ACIDS ON PRODUCTION OF REACTIVE OXYGEN SPECIES (ROS) BY SKELETAL MUSCLE CELLS

Abstract

Reactive Oxygen Species (ROS) are associated to muscle cell survival. These species in excess cause muscle cell damage and apoptosis. A recent study has shown that palmitic acid (PA) increases superoxide production by skeletal muscle cells in culture. Pathological conditions such as obesity and diabetes mellitus, lead to an increase in plasma levels of free fatty acids (FFA). In spite of these observations, however, the effect of other FFAs on production of ROS by skeletal muscle has not been investigated yet. In this study, the effects of oleic (OL), linoleic (LI), PA and stearic (ST) acids on ROS production by primary cultured rat skeletal muscle cells was investigated. The cells were treated with the fatty acids (25 M) during 60 minutes in the presence of the fluorescent probe dihydroethidium. Production of O2•‐ by the cells treated with ST, OL, LI and PA acids was increased by 55 ± 8%, 59 ± 6%, 62 ± 9% and 73 ± 10%, respectively. We observed that the NF‐κB activation is involved in the increased production of ROS induced by FFAs. Our results revealed that the increase in plasma FFAs in various pathological conditions, can lead to an increase of ROS production by skeletal muscle.