Conessine treatment reduces dexamethasone-induced muscle atrophy by regulating MuRF1 and atrogin-1 expression

Conessine, a steroidal alkaloid, is a potent histamine H3 antagonist with anti-malarial activity. We recently reported that conessine treatment interferes with H₂O₂-induced cell death by regulating autophagy. However, the cellular signaling pathways involved in conessine treatment are not fully understood. Here, we report that conessine reduces muscle atrophy by interfering with the expression of atrophy-related ubiquitin ligases MuRF-1 and atrogin-1. Promoter reporter assay revealed that conessine treatment inhibits FoxO3a-dependent transcription, NF-kappaB-dependent transcription and p53-dependent transcription. We also showed that conessine treatment reduced dexamethasone-induced expression of MuRF1 and atrogin-1 by the quantitative RT-PCR and Western blot. Finally, we demonstrated that conessine treatment reduced dexamethasone-induced muscle atrophy using differentiated C2C12 cells. These results collectively suggest that conessine is potentially useful in the treatment of muscle atrophy.