Baicalin alleviates oxidative stress in DF-1 cell line via the Mfn2/MAMs/Ca (2+) pathway

Oxidative stress is intricately associated with a variety of chicken diseases, and represents a significant challenge within the poultry industry. Baicalin (BA), a compound extracted from the plant Scutellaria Baicalensis, possesses potent antioxidant properties, however, the effects and mechanisms underlying the antioxidant activity of BA in chickens remain to be fully elucidated. This study aimed to demonstrate the antioxidant effects of BA in vitro, and to explore the underlying antioxidant mechanism. In this study, hydrogen peroxide (H₂O₂) was used to construct a model of oxidative stress in DF-1 cell line, and the antioxidant effect of BA in DF-1 cells was detected. The results indicated that BA significantly ameliorated the decline in total antioxidant capacity of DF-1 cells induced by H₂O₂, and preserved the mitochondrial function of DF-1 cells. Concurrently, H₂O₂ induced abnormal enrichment of mitochondria⁃associated membranes (MAMs) in DF-1 cells, leading to mitochondrial Ca²⁺ overload, and BA significantly mitigated this effect. Furthermore, transcriptomic sequencing and western blot analysis suggested that the Mitofusin-2 (Mfn2) gene is involved in the antioxidant process of BA. Moreover, following the siRNA-mediated interference of the Mfn2 gene, the antioxidant efficacy of BA was observed to be significantly diminished. In conclusion, BA alleviates H₂O₂-induced oxidative stress in DF-1 cells via the Mfn2/MAMs/Ca²⁺ pathway.