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Updated: Jun 24, 2026

Application of Chronic Stimulation to Study Contractile Activity-induced Rat Skeletal Muscle Phenotypic Adaptations
Published on: January 25, 2018
Caffeic acid phenethyl ester accumulates beta-catenin through GSK-3beta and participates in proliferation through
Eun Soo Lee1, Jung-Ok Lee, Soo Kyung Lee
1Department of Anatomy, Korea University College of Medicine, Seoul 136-705, Republic of Korea.
Aim:
The aim of this study is to characterize the roles of caffeic acid phenethyl ester (CAPE) in the skeletal muscle cells.
Main Methods:
We performed immunoblotting assay using various phosphorylation specific antibodies.
Key Findings:
We found that CAPE induces rapid and transient phosphorylation of glycogen synthase kinase (GSK)-3beta in a phosphoinositide 3-kinase (PI3K)-dependent manner. CAPE also decreases phosphorylation of beta-catenin, ultimately leading to beta-catenin accumulation. In addition, we demonstrated that CAPE activated the mammalian target of rapamycin (mTOR)-p70 S6 ribosomal kinase (S6K) and also stimulated extracellular signal-regulated kinase (ERK). The inhibition of mTOR blocked CAPE-induced ERK phosphorylation.
Significance:
Our results suggest that CAPE may act through beta-catenin accumulation via stimulation of GSK-3beta and may also participate in cellular proliferation through the mTOR-ERK pathway.
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