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Effects of Imidacloprid on Myogenesis in C2C12 Myoblasts
Author(s) -
Rutherford Amanda,
Kim Yoo,
Beppu Fumiaki,
Park Yeonhwa
Publication year - 2015
Publication title -
the faseb journal
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 1.709
H-Index - 277
eISSN - 1530-6860
pISSN - 0892-6638
DOI - 10.1096/fasebj.29.1_supplement.612.5
Subject(s) - myod , imidacloprid , myostatin , myogenesis , c2c12 , myocyte , biology , myod protein , microbiology and biotechnology , chemistry , skeletal muscle , endocrinology , pesticide , agronomy
Imidacloprid, a neonicotinoid insecticide, has been widely used on agricultural products and in treatments for household pets to protect against “chewing” insects; it is used in over 400 products sold in the United States. Based on the emerging body of evidence that exposure to environmental pollutants, including insecticides, is linked to obesity and type 2 diabetes, we investigated the role of imidacloprid on myogenesis. C2C12 myoblasts were treated during differentiation with various concentrations of imidacloprid (0.1‐10 μM) for 8 days. Myotube formation and gene and protein expression for myogenic factors were determined. Increased concentrations of imidacloprid showed a significant decrease in myogenesis. Myostatin, an upstream regulator and strong anti‐myogenic factor, was dose‐dependently increased after imidacloprid treatment. Similarly, Smad2, a downstream marker of Myostatin, increased expression with imidacloprid treatment, particularly at 5 μM. Gene expression of myoblast determination protein (MyoD), an early myogenic transcriptional regulator, was down‐regulated by imidacloprid in a dose‐dependent manner, 20% reduction of MyoD compared to the control at 5 and 10 μM imidacloprid. These results suggest that imidacloprid inhibits myogenesis by increasing Myostatin expression, which induces the up‐regulation of Smad2 expression, resulting in decreased myogenic gene expression, particularly MyoD. This may lead to decreased muscle mass and eventually contribute to the development of obesity and type 2 diabetes.