Midazolam activates caspase, MAPKs and endoplasmic reticulum stress pathways, and inhibits cell cycle and Akt pathway, to induce apoptosis in TM3 mouse Leydig progenitor cells

Abstract

Fu-Chi Kang,1,* Shu-Chun Wang,2,* Ming-Min Chang,2 Bo-Syong Pan,3 Kar-Lok Wong,4 Ka-Shun Cheng,4,5 Edmund Cheung So,4,6 Bu-Miin Huang2,7 1Department of Anesthesia, Chi Mei Medical Center, Chiali, Tainan, Taiwan, Republic of China; 2Department of Cell Biology and Anatomy, College of Medicine, National Cheng Kung University, Tainan, Taiwan, Republic of China; 3Department of Cancer Biology, Wake Forest University School of Medicine, Winston Salem, NC, USA; 4Department of Anesthesia, China Medical University, Taichung, Taiwan, Republic of China; 5Department of Anesthesiology, The Qingdao University Yuhuangding Hospital, Yantai, Shandong, China; 6Department of Anesthesia, An Nan Hospital, China Medical University, Tainan, Taiwan, Republic of China; 7Department of Medical Research, China Medical University Hospital, China Medical University, Taichung, Taiwan, Republic of China *These authors contributed equally to this work Background: Midazolam (MDZ) has powerful hypnosis, amnesia, anti-anxiety and anticonvulsant effects. Studies have shown that prenatally developmental toxicity of diazepam can be observed in many organs/tissues. However, it remains elusive in male reproductive system.Materials and methods: TM3 mouse Leydig progenitor cell line was used to determine whether MDZ has any unfavorable effects.Results: Midazolam significantly decreased cell viability in dose- and time-dependent manners in TM3 cells. In flow cytometry analysis, midazolam significantly increased subG1 phase cell numbers, and annexin V/PI double staining assay further confirmed that MDZ induced apoptosis in TM3 cells. Moreover, MDZ significantly induced the expression of caspase-8 and -3 proteins and the phosphorylation of JNK, ERK1/2 and p38. Besides, MDZ didn’t activate Akt pathway in TM3 cells. Furthermore, the expressions of p-EIF2α, ATF4, ATF3 and CHOP were induced by midazolam, suggesting that midazolam could induce apoptosis through endoplasmic reticulum (ER) stress in TM3 cells. Additionally, the expressions of cyclin A, cyclin B and CDK1 were inhibited by midazolam through the regulation of p53 in TM3 cells, indicating that midazolam could regulate cell cycle to induce apoptosis.Conclusion: Midazolam could activate caspase, MAPKs and ER stress pathways and impede Akt pathway and cell cycle to induce apoptosis in TM3 mouse Leydig progenitor cells. Keywords: midazolam, TM3, Leydig progenitor cells, apoptosis, caspase, MAPKs, ER stress, cell cycle 

Keywords

• Midazolam
• TM3
• Leydig progenitor cells
• apoptosis
• caspase
• MAPKs
• ER stress
• cell cycle.