Effect of anthocynanidins in myogenic differentiation and antioxidant defense in primary myogenic cells isolated from rainbow trout (Oncorhynchus mykiss)

Authors: VILLASANTE, ALEJANDRO - University Of Idaho; POWELL, MADISON - University Of Idaho; MOUTOU, KATERINA - University Of Thessaly; MURDOCH, GORDON - University Of Idaho; Overturf, Kenneth - Ken; WACYK, JURIJ - University Of Chile; HARDY, RONALD - University Of Idaho

Submitted to: Aquaculture
Publication Type: Peer Reviewed Journal
Publication Acceptance Date: 12/9/2015
Publication Date: 3/11/2016
Citation: Villasante, A., Powell, M., Moutou, K., Murdoch, G., Overturf, K.E., Wacyk, J., Hardy, R. 2016. Effect of anthocynanidins in myogenic differentiation and antioxidant defense in primary myogenic cells isolated from rainbow trout (Oncorhynchus mykiss). Aquaculture. 454:81-89.

Interpretive Summary: Many feed additives derived from plants have been shown to enhance growth and/or improve overall animal health. Certain plants are known to contain flavonoids which are associated with beneficial effects in both human and animal health. In this experiment we tested the response of cultured fish muscle cells to the presence of different types and concentrations of flavonoids. To evaluate changes we examined the expression of several muscle specific genes. Our findings show that in culture these flavonoids effect the expression of certain muscle specific factors and many play a role in regulating muscle cell development.

Technical Abstract: Elucidating the effects of plant secondary metabolites on skeletal muscle growth signaling will contribute to an improved understanding of the effects of feeding carnivorous fish diets supplemented with plant-derived feedstuff with respect to fish somatic growth. There is increasing interest in using plant extracts for disease control and growth promotion in finfish aquaculture as an alternative to chemical treatments in the past years. Dietary intake of anthocyanins, a type of flavonoids widely distributed in plants, has long been associated with beneficial effects in both human and animal health. We conducted an experiment to test the effect of three doses (treatments A, B and C; 1x, 2.4x and 10x, respectively) of a mixture of three types of anthocyanidins (peonidin, cyanidin and pelargonidin chloride), the aglycons of anthocyanins, on the expression of several genes in primary myogenic cells isolated from skeletal muscle of rainbow trout (Oncorhynchus mykiss) after 24 hours of treatment. The genes of interest play pivotal role in myogenic programing (pax7, myoD and myogenin), Notch signaling (her6 and hey2) and antioxidant enzymes (sod1, cat and gpx1). Significantly greater expression of pax7 in cells under treatment B compared with the untreated cells was detected. Although no differences in myoD and myogenin expression between either test group and the control group were detected, a trend toward significantly lower expression in all groups tested compared with the control group was observed. Moreover, significant higher expression levels of her6 and hey2 in cells under treatments A and B compared with untreated cells were detected. Although, no significant differences in the expression of cat and sod1 between either test group and the control group were observed, significantly greater expression in gpx1 in all groups tested when compared with the control group was detected. Collectively, our data show that anthocyanidins appears to exert a pause-like effect myogenic differentiation in primary myogenic cells by up-regulating the expression of pax7 via Notch signaling target genes. However, whether this effect implies a reduced growth performance and/or an increase in feed conversion ratio in fish fed diets supplemented with plant extracts rich in anthocyanins needs further research. We demonstrated that plant secondary metabolites such as anthocyanidins modulate the expression of crucial genes involved in myogenic programing in a primary myogenic cell pool obtained from carnivorous fish skeletal muscle. Further research regarding the potential effects of different polyphenol classes in myogenic differentiation in primary myogenic cells from carnivorous fish is warranted.