Moringa isothiocyanate-1 inhibits LPS-induced inflammation in mouse myoblasts and skeletal muscle

This study aims to investigate the anti-inflammatory effects of moringa isothiocyanate-1 (MIC-1) extracted from seeds of Moringa oleifera Lam. in lipopolysaccharide (LPS)-induced inflammation models. MIC-1 decreased nitric oxide production and reduced the expression of pro-inflammatory markers (TNF-α, Ifn-α, IL-1β, IL-6) in C2C12 myoblasts. The daily oral treatment of MIC-1 (80 mg/kg) for three days significantly reduced the expression of pro-inflammatory markers in gastrocnemius muscle tissue of LPS-treated C57BL/6 male mice. Transcriptomic analysis provided further insights into the inhibitory effects of MIC-1 on the LPS-induced inflammation, which suggested that MIC-1 affects inflammation and immunity-related genes in myoblasts and skeletal muscle tissue. MIC-1 inhibited the nuclear accumulation of the nuclear factor kappa-light-chain-enhancer of activated B cells (NF-κB) in the LPS-treated myoblasts. Our data support the hypothesis that the MIC-1's effects in the muscle cells are mediated through the inhibition of the NF-κB translocation in the nucleus, which, in turn, results in immunomodulating and anti-inflammatory responses at the gene expression levels.