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Updated: Jan 13, 2026
SA-β-Galactosidase-Based Screening Assay for the Identification of Senotherapeutic Drugs
Published on: June 28, 2019
Activation of Sirtuin3 by 6,4'-Dihydroxy-7-methoxyflavanone Against Myoblasts Senescence by Attenuating
Bingsi Li1, Yuxuan Gu1, Libing Zhou2
1Department of Anatomy, Basic Medical College, Xuzhou Medical University, Xuzhou 221004, China.
Background/Objective:
Cellular senescence is increasingly recognized as a key mechanism underlying sarcopenia, an age-related muscle disorder with no effective therapeutic. 6,4'-Dihydroxy-7-methoxyflavanone (DMF), a flavonoid isolated from Dalbergia odorifera T. Chen, has shown anti-senescence potential. This study aimed to investigate the protective effects of DMF against myoblasts senescence and elucidate the underlying molecular mechanisms.
Method:
A cellular model of senescence was established in C2C12 myoblasts using D-galactose (D-gal). The effects of DMF pretreatment were evaluated by assessing senescence phenotypes, myogenic differentiation, and mitochondrial function. The role of Sirtuin3 (SIRT3) was confirmed using siRNA-mediated knockdown.
Results:
DMF Pre-treatment effectively attenuated D-gal-induced senescence, as indicated by restored proliferation, reduced senescence-associated β-galactosidase activity, decreased DNA damage, and the downregulation of p53, p21Cip1/WAF1 and p16INK4a. Furthermore, DMF rescued myogenic differentiation capacity, enhancing the expression of Myoblast determination protein 1, Myogenin, Myosin heavy chain and Muscle-specific regulatory factor 4, and promoting myotube formation. Mechanistically, DMF was identified as a SIRT3 activator. It enhanced SIRT3 expression and activity, leading to the deacetylation and activation of the mitochondrial antioxidant enzyme superoxide dismutase 2. This consequently reduced mitochondrial reactive oxygen species, improved mitochondrial membrane potential and ATP production, and suppressed the NF-κB pathway by inhibiting IκBα phosphorylation and p65 acetylation/nuclear translocation. Crucially, all the beneficial effects of DMF-including oxidative stress reduction, mitochondrial functional recovery, anti-inflammatory action, and ultimately, the attenuation of senescence and improvement of myogenesis-were abolished upon SIRT3 knockdown.
Conclusions:
Our findings demonstrate that DMF alleviates myoblasts senescence and promotes myogenic differentiation by activating the SIRT3-SOD2 pathway, thereby reducing oxidative stress and NF-κB-driven inflammation responses. DMF emerges as a promising therapeutic candidate for sarcopenia.
