Sulforaphane enhanced muscle growth by promoting lipid oxidation through modulating key signaling pathways

Sulforaphane (SFN) has shown diverse effects on human health and diseases. SFN was administered daily to C57BL/6J mice at doses of 1 mg/kg (SFN1) and 3 mg/kg (SFN3) for 8 weeks. Both doses of SFN accelerated body weight increment. The cross-sectional area and diameter of Longissimus dorsi (LD) muscle fibers were enlarged in SFN3 group. Triglyceride (TG) and total cholesterol (TC) levels in LD muscle were decreased in SFN groups. RNA sequencing results revealed that 2455 and 2318 differentially expressed genes (DEGs) were found in SFN1 and SFN3 groups, respectively. Based on GO enrichment analysis, 754 and 911 enriched GO terms in the SFN1 and SFN3 groups, respectively. KEGG enrichment analysis shown that one KEGG pathway was enriched in the SFN1 group, while six KEGG pathways were enriched in the SFN3 group. The expressions of nine selected DEGs validated with qRT-PCR were in line with the RNA sequencing data. Furthermore, SFN treatment influenced lipid and protein metabolism related pathways including AMPK signaling, fatty acid metabolism signaling, cholesterol metabolism signalling, PPAR signaling, peroxisome signaling, TGFβ signaling, and mTOR signaling. In summary, SFN elevated muscle fibers size and reduced TG and TC content of in LD muscle by modulating protein and lipid metabolism-related signaling pathways.