Objective To investigate the effect of Metformin (Met) on dexamethasone (Dex) -induced apoptosis of osteoblasts by regulating phosphatidylinositol 3 kinase (PI3K)/protein kinase B (Akt)/mammalian target of rapamycin (mTOR) signaling pathway. Methods Embryonic osteoblast precursor cells MC3T3-E1 of mouse cultured in vitro were divided into control group (normal cultured), Dex group (treated with Dex), Met group (treated with Dex and Met), Met + IGF-1 group (treated with Dex, Met and PI3K/Akt/mTOR pathway activator IGF-1), Met + NVP-BEZ235 group (treated with Dex, Met and PI3K/Akt/mTOR pathway inhibitor NVP-BEZ235), the protein expression levels of PI3K, Akt, phosphorylated (P)-Akt, mTOR and p-mTOR in MC3T3-E1 cells were detected by Western blot (WB), MTT assay was used to detect the survival rate of MC3T3-E1 cells, the apoptosis rate of MC3T3-E1 cells was detected by flow cytometry, the mRNA expression levels of Bcl-2 and Bax in MC3T3-E1 cells were detected by real-time fluorescence quantitative PCR, Caspase-3 activity assay kit was used to detect caspase-3 activity in MC3T3-E1 cells, in addition, JC-1 probe was used to detect the changes of mitochondrial membrane potential in MC3T3-E1 cells. Results Compared with those in the control group, the protein expression levels of PI3K, p-Akt and p-mTOR, cell survival rate, mRNA expression level of Bcl-2, and mitochondrial membrane potential in Dex group were significantly lower, while the apoptosis rate, mRNA expression level of Bax and caspase-3 activity were significantly higher (P<0.05); compared with those in Dex group, the protein expression levels of PI3K, p-Akt and p-mTOR, cell survival rate, mRNA expression level of Bcl-2, and mitochondrial membrane potential in Dex group were significantly higher, while the apoptosis rate, mRNA expression level of Bax and caspase-3 activity were significantly lower (P<0.05); the effect of Met on MC3T3-E1 cells was significantly enhanced after IGF-1 treatment, while the effect of Met on MC3T3-E1 cells was significantly decreased after treatment with nvp-bez235 (P<0.05). Conclusion Met can inhibit mitochondrial apoptosis and reduce the glucocorticoid Dex-induced apoptosis of osteoblasts by activating PI3K/Akt/mTOR pathway. |