<abstract xmlns="http://www.w3.org/1999/xhtml">

<p>Bovine tuberculosis is an airborne infectious disease caused by organisms of the <italic>Mycobacterium tuberculosis</italic> (MTB) complex. Mycolic acid (MA) is the main lipid component of the cell membrane of MTB. It is non-enzymatically reduced by NAD(P)H and further produces reactive oxygen species (ROS), which can cause oxidative stress in human cells. N-acetylcysteine (NAC) is a synthetic precursor of glutathione (GSH) and exhibits anti-ROS activity. However, the underlying mechanisms of its protective properties remain uncertain. Herein, after pre-incubation of RAW264.7 cells with NAC, the factors associated with apoptosis and autophagy were measured. Mechanistically, NAC could reduce MA-induced expression of pro-apoptotic and pro-autophagy proteins. At the mRNA level, NAC can inhibit AMPK and activate mTOR expression. The results indicate that NAC might regulate autophagy in RAW264.7 cells through the AMPK/mTOR pathway. To further prove the effect of NAC on MA, ICR mice were used to evaluate the lung injury. Hematoxylin-eosin (HE) staining was performed on the lung. The results show that NAC could reduce cell injury induced by MA. In conclusion, our research showed that NAC attenuates apoptosis and autophagy in response to incubation with mycolic acid.</p>
</abstract>

Bovine tuberculosis is an airborne infectious disease caused by organisms of the Mycobacterium tuberculosis (MTB) complex. Mycolic acid (MA) is the main lipid component of the cell membrane of MTB. It is non-enzymatically reduced by NAD(P)H and further produces reactive oxygen species (ROS), which can cause oxidative stress in human cells. N-acetylcysteine (NAC) is a synthetic precursor of glutathione (GSH) and exhibits anti-ROS activity. However, the underlying mechanisms of its protective properties remain uncertain. Herein, after pre-incubation of RAW264.7 cells with NAC, the factors associated with apoptosis and autophagy were measured. Mechanistically, NAC could reduce MA-induced expression of pro-apoptotic and pro-autophagy proteins. At the mRNA level, NAC can inhibit AMPK and activate mTOR expression. The results indicate that NAC might regulate autophagy in RAW264.7 cells through the AMPK/mTOR pathway. To further prove the effect of NAC on MA, ICR mice were used to evaluate the lung injury. Hematoxylin-eosin (HE) staining was performed on the lung. The results show that NAC could reduce cell injury induced by MA. In conclusion, our research showed that NAC attenuates apoptosis and autophagy in response to incubation with mycolic acid.

N-acetylcysteine (NAC) Attenuating Apoptosis and Autophagy in RAW264.7 Cells in Response to Incubation with Mycolic Acid from Bovine <italic>Mycobacterium tuberculosis</italic> Complex

Polish Journal of Microbiology

This work is licensed under the Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivatives 4.0 International License.

N-acetylcysteine (NAC) Attenuating Apoptosis and Autophagy in RAW264.7 Cells in Response to Incubation with Mycolic Acid from Bovine  Complex

Bovine tuberculosis is an airborne infectious disease caused by organisms of the Mycobacterium tuberculosis (MTB) complex. Mycolic acid (MA) is the main lipid...

N-acetylcysteine (NAC) Attenuating Apoptosis and Autophagy in RAW264.7 Cells in Response to Incubation with Mycolic Acid from Bovine Mycobacterium tuberculosis Complex

Article Category: original-paper

Published Online: Jun 04, 2020

Page range: 223 - 229

Received: Mar 17, 2020

Accepted: May 10, 2020

DOI: https://doi.org/10.33073/pjm-2020-026

Keywords
N-acetylcysteine, mycolic acid, apoptosis, autophagy

© 2020 Xue Lin et al., published by Sciendo

This work is licensed under the Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivatives 4.0 International License.

N-acetylcysteine (NAC) Attenuating Apoptosis and Autophagy in RAW264.7 Cells in Response to Incubation with Mycolic Acid from Bovine Mycobacterium tuberculosis Complex

Article Category: original-paper

Published Online: Jun 04, 2020

Page range: 223 - 229

Received: Mar 17, 2020

Accepted: May 10, 2020

DOI: https://doi.org/10.33073/pjm-2020-026

KeywordsN-acetylcysteine, mycolic acid, apoptosis, autophagy

© 2020 Xue Lin et al., published by Sciendo

This work is licensed under the Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivatives 4.0 International License.

Keywords
N-acetylcysteine, mycolic acid, apoptosis, autophagy