1. Introduction
Intracellular calcium is a critical coordinator for many cellular events. The calcium concentration of 1 mM in the extracellular space and around 100 nM in the intracellular space is tightly regulated by several enzymes, channels, and transporters, resulting in precise calcium signals [
1,
2]. The main player in maintaining calcium homeostasis by accumulating released Ca
2+ back into the sarco/endoplasmic reticulum (SR/ER) is the Ca
2+-ATPase pump enzyme (SERCA). Many redox diseases, including diabetes, are associated with dysfunction of SERCA caused by its modified activity and/or expression [
2,
3].
SERCA isoforms are highly conserved in structure, with 75% or more homology between proteins from the SERCA1, SERCA2, and SERCA3 families [
4]. In pancreatic beta-cells, three different isoforms (SERCA2a, SERCA2b, SERCA3) are expressed, with SERCA2b being the most prevalent one and representing the key regulator of ER Ca
2+ transport in these cells [
5].
Drugs maintaining correct calcium levels in SR/ER represent one of the novel therapeutic targets for the treatment of redox diseases. Natural phenolic compounds can bind to SERCA, thus modulating its activity [
6]. Most of the phenolic compounds are known as SERCA inhibitors, and only a few are activators.
While small molecules able to lower SERCA activity or expression [
7,
8,
9,
10,
11] have been proposed and used as anticancer drugs [
12], SERCA activators, which increase enzyme activity and expression, may be used in the treatment of heart diseases and diabetes and are summarized in a review by Chemaly et al. [
2].
Until now, no clear explanation exists regarding a structure-related molecular mechanism of SERCA allosteric activation. However, certain indications appeared in mutation studies concerning the modulatory function of ATP. Clausen et al. [
13] found that the mutation Glu439Ala resulted in a significant increase in the SERCA dephosphorylation rate (E2P→E2 transition) when measured as a function of ATP concentration. Thus, the interaction of Glu439 with active ligands could contribute to an increase in SERCA activity, as dephosphorylation is the rate-limiting step (or set of steps) for the second period of the SERCA1a activity cycle [
14].
In conditions of oxidative stress
in vitro, natural polyphenolic compounds may regulate SERCA activity by their antioxidant ability, trapping of oxidants, and/or binding to SERCA. More complex conditions occur in the cellular system or
in vivo, where also other factors contribute to SERCA regulation. SIRTs, nicotinamide adenine dinucleotide (NAD+)-dependent histone deacetylases, and the peroxisome proliferator-activated receptors (PPARs) are important regulators of SERCAs subjected to loss of function in conditions of diabetes. Another way of regulating SERCAs is the modulation of the activity of phosphodiesterases (PDEs), which degrade cAMP. PDEs belong to a class of enzymes that hydrolyze the phosphodiester bonds of cAMP and cGMP, thereby modulating various cellular signaling pathways [
15].
SERCA2b is specifically downregulated in INS-1E cells in the presence of high glucose [
16] and is directly regulated by the nuclear receptor PPARγ. Loss of beta-cell SERCA2b expression was observed in several models of type 2 diabetes [
17,
18]. SERCA2b likely plays a significant role in the regulation of insulin secretion [
17,
19].
Protection against beta-cell dysfunction may also be realized via the modulation of PDE activities associated with SERCA regulation; SERCA2 may be regulated by PDE3A in the human myocardium [
20].
Overproduction of free fatty acids critically enhances the generation of reactive oxygen species (ROS), inducing lipotoxicity associated with endoplasmic reticulum (ER) stress, calcium dysregulation, mitochondrial dysfunction, and cell death [
21]. Palmitate is one of the most abundant free fatty acids (FFA) in plasma [
22,
23] and a potential inductor of ROS generation in different types of cells [
24,
25,
26]. Palmitate oxidation produces excessive electrons in the respiratory chain, resulting in the overproduction of superoxide dismutase. The molecular mechanisms of ROS production in cells induced by palmitate are still unexplained. The formation of ROS induced by palmitate results in an incorrect redox status of ER and the accumulation of abnormal clustered proteins [
27].
A significant increase in FFA concentration was found in patients suffering from type 2 diabetes mellitus (T2DM) in comparison with control healthy people. The release of Ca
2+, caused by palmitate-induced oxidative stress, resulted in calcium overloading in the cytosol and mitochondria, thus accelerating additional ROS generation in mitochondria. Calcium channel activation induced by the depletion of Ca
2+ from ER increases the impairment of calcium homeostasis. Interruption of this vicious circle of ROS generation, as well as dysregulation of calcium homeostasis, may be a promising therapeutic aim for the prevention and treatment of metabolic diseases associated with lipotoxicity [
27]. Oxidative stress induced by palmitate represents the main mechanism of the uncoupling of insulin signaling.
Palmitate is often used to examine the direct effects of lipotoxicity, and it may cause alterations by activating protein acetylation. Prolonged exposure to palmitate induces changes in beta-cell protein lysine acetylation, which leads to cell damage [
28]. Acetylation dysregulated by sirtuins may be a target to counteract palmitate-induced beta-cell lipotoxicity.
MGX is a highly reactive compound derived mainly from glucose and fructose metabolism. It is implicated in diabetic complications as it is a strong advanced glycation end product (AGE) precursor involved in insulin resistance and beta-cell dysfunction [
29,
30], and it is a potent inducer of oxidative stress [
31,
32]. MGX reacts with DNA, lipids, and proteins mainly via arginine, lysine, and cysteine, producing AGEs [
33]. Membrane permeable MGX may reach SERCA, which is sensitive to MGX-induced injury.
Our research is focused on activation of SERCA by polyphenolic compounds (ellagic acid, [6]-gingerol, resveratrol). In addition, resveratrol and [6]-gingerol derivatives were studied due to their better solubility, bioavailability, and higher antioxidant properties. The effects of the compounds tested were evaluated in the noncellular system of the rabbit sarcoplasmic reticulum from fast-twitch skeletal muscles. The aim of this study was to determine whether the scavenging/antioxidant effects of the polyphenols tested or the special binding of compounds to SERCA1 is responsible for the enzyme activity increase important in antidiabetic effects. The pancreatic INS-1E beta-cell line was used as a cellular system to analyze insulin release regulated by SERCA2b.
3. Discussion
Elevated levels of palmitate or methylglyoxal play a role in the oxidative impairment associated with diabetic complications. Therefore, we analyzed the effects of these oxidants
in vitro in the sarcoplasmic reticulum (SR) of skeletal muscles, as well as in the cell system of pancreatic INS-1E beta-cells. MGX decreased Ca
2+-ATPase activity in the SR of skeletal muscles (SERCA1) with an IC
50 of 2.98 mM, and palmitate with an IC
50 of 0.65 mM, indicating that palmitate is a more effective inhibitor of SERCA1. Concerning the effects of the above-mentioned oxidants in a model of INS-1E beta-cells, in which cell viability was evaluated, palmitate similarly induced a stronger impairment, with an IC
50 of 0.41 mM, compared with an IC
50 of 2.54 mM for MGX. This may probably be caused by different mechanisms of injury used by the different oxidants, in addition to the fact that both are inductors of ROS generation. MGX can cross the membrane and bind to specific amino acids (arginine, lysine, and cysteine) of SERCA [
34]. Impairment induced by palmitate is characterized by its incorporation into the membrane [
27]. Protective effects of natural polyphenolic compounds, diminishing the impairment induced by methylglyoxal and palmitate, were evaluated in noncellular as well as cellular systems to better understand their mechanism of action.
We suppose that the direct interaction of the compounds tested with crucial amino acids of SERCA1 induces an increase or decrease in SERCA1 activity. In the presence of oxidants, protection against SERCA impairment may be caused by the competition of polyphenolic compounds with oxidants or their oxidative products in binding to important binding sites, thereby influencing SERCA activity. Trapping of oxidants (MGX) may also occur. Additional mechanisms, such as the regulation of SERCA by sirtuins, PPARs, and PDEs, may be included in the cellular system.
3.1. [6]-Gingerol (GIN) and [6]-shogaol (SHO)
We found a concentration-dependent increase in SERCA1 activity, induced by [6]-gingerol (EC
50 = 36.94 µM). Stimulation of SERCA from both skeletal and cardiac muscles was also found previously, suggesting direct SERCA protein activation [
35].
Thermally labile gingerols easily undergo dehydration to form the corresponding shogaols, both exhibiting several identical biological activities, ranging from anticancer, antioxidant, antimicrobial, anti-inflammatory, and antiallergic activity [
36]. In addition, ginger, ginger extracts, and shogaol could provide valuable protection against diabetes and cardiac and hepatic disorders [
37]. Although [6]-gingerol and [6]-shogaol exerted identical biological effects, their mechanisms of action are probably different. Whereas [6]-gingerol increased SERCA1 activity, [6]-shogaol exerted no SERCA1 stimulation, and an inhibitory effect was observed at higher concentrations (75 and 100 μM). These differences may be caused by distinct interactions of these compounds with SERCA1. According to molecular modeling, we found that [6]-gingerol can bind to Glu439 of SERCA1, a typical binding site for SERCA activators, while [6]-shogaol was bound without direct interaction with this amino acid. Other authors tested the effects of 160 gingerol derivatives on SERCA. Their experimental results correlated with our molecular modeling. Derivatives able to stimulate SERCA1 possess at least 6 carbon chains, an o-methoxy phenolic group, and OH or NH groups situated behind the oxygen group. In this respect, [6]-gingerol can stimulate SERCA; however, [6]-shogaol is not able to do this [
38]. Thus, it may be concluded that the structure of polyphenolic compounds important for SERCA stimulation may play a key role in the activation of SERCA and the protective effects in conditions of oxidative stress, as indicated below.
Opposite effects of these compounds were also observed in conditions of oxidative stress, in the presence of MGX. Whereas [6]-gingerol significantly and concentration-dependently protected SERCA1 activity against MGX impairment, [6]-shogaol was without any preventive effect. At higher concentrations (75 and 100 µM), shogaol exerted even inhibition, although [6]-shogaol was found to be a stronger antioxidant and scavenger than [6]-gingerol [
39]. Also, according to our theoretical calculations using E
HOMO and E
LUMO values, SHO is a stronger antioxidant with higher lipophilicity than GIN (
Table 1).
Antioxidant properties of [6]-gingerol were previously demonstrated by stimulation of superoxide dismutase, catalase, glutathione peroxidase, and GSH activities [
40], while [6]-shogaol decreased activities/levels of antioxidant enzymes [
41]. However, this is not the case in the sarcoplasmic reticulum, where we do not expect the presence of antioxidant enzymes. Both agents were able to effectively inhibit the formation of MGX-induced AGEs by trapping MGX in a time-dependent manner in the human serum albumin (HSA)-MGX system [
42].
[6]-Gingerol (100 µM, incubation times of 1 and 3 h) partially increased SERCA1 activity in the presence of palmitate. [6]-Shogaol did not activate SERCA. Higher concentrations (75 – 100 µM) and prolonged incubation times even decreased SERCA1 activity.
We can suggest that SERCA activation by [6]-gingerol or its protective effect in oxidative stress conditions is not preferentially associated with its antioxidant/scavenging properties. Its ability to specifically interact with SERCA plays a significant role in enzyme activation or protection, as indicated experimentally and by molecular modeling. Direct interaction of [6]-gingerol and [6]-shogaol with SERCA is most important for SERCA1 activation/inhibition or protection against oxidants [
38].
Although [6]-gingerol can activate SERCA1 and SERCA2a in microsome preparations, this compound does not appear to activate the SERCA2b pump isoform, based on experiments using intact NG115–401L neuronal cells that express only the SERCA2b isoform. The SERCA2b isoform is also known to be the largest of the SERCA proteins, containing an additional 49 C-terminal amino acid residues. These residues could alter the conformational states of the protein in such a way that [6]-gingerol binding may exert an inhibitory influence on one or more of the key partial reactions of the enzymatic cycle [
43]. The authors concluded that there exists the possibility that [6]-gingerol, as opposed to acting like a pump stimulator in SR skeletal and cardiac microsomes, appears more likely to be a SERCA inhibitor when tested in the context of an intact cell assay. [6]-Gingerol probably exerts its effect indirectly via binding abilities and alterations on SERCA-associated regulatory proteins. Thus, it would be possible that [6]-gingerol could produce a very different effect on the SERCA2b pump expressed in NG115-401L cells because it can regulate a separate protein associated with the regulation of SERCA enzymatic function, as has been well documented for phospholamban, working in accordance with SERCA2a in cardiac muscles.
This agrees with our results on INS-1E pancreatic beta-cells, in which SERCA2b is the dominant SERCA. The viability of INS-1E pancreatic cells in our experiments was affected neither by the agents tested nor by conditions of oxidative stress.
Cell viability inhibition by [6]-gingerol was contrary to the increased insulin release at a higher concentration of glucose (16.7 mM), regulated by SERCA2b, which may suggest an adaptive mechanism. Increased plasma insulin levels after [6]-gingerol treatment were also observed in mice with type 2 diabetes induced by sodium arsenide, which improved impaired insulin signaling. In these experiments, [6]-gingerol was reported to act as a SERCA2a activator by improving diabetes-induced myocardial diastolic dysfunction and by enhancing the relaxation and the Ca
2+ transient decay rate [
35]. On the other hand, we found that [6]-shogaol did not affect insulin release in INS-1E cells.
We can conclude that [6]-gingerol and [6]-shogaol, agents with significant antidiabetic properties, act via different mechanisms. SERCA1 activation and the increase in insulin secretion in INS-1E cells may at least partially be involved in the antidiabetic effect of [6]-gingerol. On the other hand, the inhibitory effect of [6]-shogaol on adipogenesis and lipid accumulation may be one of its most significant protective effects. As previously reported, both [6]-gingerol and [6]-shogaol could assist in preventing diabetes by improving adipocyte dysfunction [
44]. However, of all ginger components tested, [6]-shogaol had the most potent inhibitory effect on adipogenesis and lipid accumulation in 3T3-LI cells at a concentration of 40 μM [
45,
46]. [6]-Shogaol also exhibited an antidiabetic effect by decreasing the level of blood glucose, reducing body weight, and attenuating pathological changes to normal levels in diabetic mice. Furthermore, it has a beneficial effect on pancreas, kidney, and liver damage in diabetic mice. [6]-Shogaol also prevented damage from STZ-induced stress [
37].
3.2. Resveratrol (RES) and oxyresveratrol (ORES)
We tested the effects of RES and its derivative ORES on SERCA1 activity in the noncellular system of the skeletal muscle sarcoplasmic reticulum and insulin secretion in pancreatic INS-1E beta-cells. Oxyresveratrol is a tetrahydroxy stilbene derivative, which is metabolically more stable and more widely distributed in the body than resveratrol. This derivative should be considered a potential lead compound for further drug development [
47].
We found that RES increased SERCA1 activity; however, ORES exerted no stimulatory effect. This may be caused by different interactions between the tested compounds and SERCA1, as determined by molecular modeling. RES was able to interact with Glu439 in SERCA1, while OXYRES was not able to bind to this amino acid. RES also protected SERCA1 enzyme activity in conditions of oxidative stress induced by both MGX and palmitate. Protection of RES against MGX oxidation was concentration dependent (EC
50 = 111.77 µM). ORES induced SERCA1 inhibition, although both compounds possess the ability to scavenge MGX [
48,
49]. Controversial results were found after oxidation with palmitate; a protective effect of RES and inhibition of ORES were observed. Antioxidant effects of RES and ORES may play a role against oxidative stress in SR. Our theoretical calculations, using E
HOMO and E
LUMO values, indicated that RES was only a slightly more potent antioxidant than ORES. On the other hand, it seems that ORES has significantly stronger prooxidant properties. However, according to the experimental results of Lorenz et al. [
50], ORES, known for its lower cytotoxicity toward microglia and good water solubility, was found to be a better scavenger and antioxidant than RES. According to our calculations of the distribution and partition coefficients, RES is more lipophilic than ORES, so it can easier penetrate the SR membrane and, consequently, better reach SERCA.
We can conclude that the antioxidant and scavenging effects do not play a key role in the protective effects of RES against SERCA1 oxidative inhibition. We suppose that the protective effect of RES may be associated with its specific way of binding to SERCA1. The inhibitory effect of ORES may be related to its prooxidant and lipophilic properties.
In the cellular system, RES can regulate diabetes by several mechanisms, most of which are at least partially associated with SERCA. The first mechanism is its ability to activate the NAD+-dependent deacetylase of SIRT1, which increased 8-fold in the presence of RES [
51]. Drastically reduced expression of SERCA2a was found in both types of diabetes [
52,
53,
54]. It was also observed that SIRT1 acts as a transcriptional activator of SERCA2a gene expression in high-glucose conditions. These results demonstrate that RES acting via SIRT1 could regulate SERCA2a expression in diabetic mice [
55].
Most studies on the protective effect of RES in conditions of diabetes focused on the expression of SERCA2a in the heart. However, some investigations focused on SERCA2b in beta-cells, playing a dominant role among SERCA isoforms in these cells. SERCA2b is specifically downregulated in the presence of a high glucose concentration. Numerous clinical and preclinical studies clearly demonstrate that agents that act as agonists of PPARγ have direct effects on the improvement of pancreatic beta-cell function and survival in T2DM [
56]. SERCA2b from INS-1 pancreatic beta-cells is directly regulated by the nuclear receptor PPARγ [
17]. Under both normal and stressed conditions, transient overexpression of SERCA2b significantly increased insulin release in INS-1 cells [
17].
PPARs represent the second way of diabetic disorder improvement regulated by SERCA and are important targets in diabetes therapy. PPAR𝛾 is expressed in a variety of tissues, including the islet beta-cell [
57,
58]. It may play a role in beta-cell insulin release, is able to improve islet function, and may directly activate genes encoding SERCAs [
59]. Resveratrol was demonstrated to act as a partial agonist of the PPARγ receptor, which opens the possibility for its use in the treatment of metabolic disorders.
Of the 56 resveratrol derivatives, ORES was one of the two tetrahydroxy stilbene derivatives with better solubility and affinity toward PPARγ [
47]. RES (10 and 50 µM) exerted no protection on the viability of INS-1E pancreatic beta-cells in the presence of palmitate. On the other hand, ORES possessed a protective effect, which may be due to its more significant scavenging and antioxidant properties [
50]; its better affinity toward PPARγ may, however, also play a role. Neither RES nor ORES influenced the viability of INS-1E cells in the presence of MGX.
RES has been reported to act as a PDE inhibitor in various cell types, including beta-cell lines and human islets. RES enhances beta-cell function by regulating PDE expression and activity, thus increasing intracellular cAMP levels and subsequent insulin release [
60]. In our experiments, we found no increase in insulin secretion. This may be caused by the fact that other types of pancreatic beta-cells (β-Min6 cells) were used by Rouse et al. [
60].
3.4. Ellagic acid (EA)
Ellagic acid (EA) is a natural polyphenolic antioxidant with potent anti-inflammatory, anticancerogenic, antidiabetic, cardioprotective, and other health-protective properties. Antioxidant and antiapoptotic effects of EA were found to be associated with a significant overexpression of SIRT1 in renal tissues, which is the key factor in cell survival [
61].
Ellagic acid also increased the deacetylase activity of SIRT6 up to 50-fold. SIRT6 regulates distinct cellular functions, genome stability, DNA repair, and inflammation of related diseases. SIRT6 indirectly inhibits gluconeogenesis by inactivating a key transcriptional regulator of gluconeogenesis, PPARγ [
62,
63].
According to our knowledge, the effect of EA on skeletal muscle SERCA1 has never been studied. However, EA increased the affinity for Ca
2+ of cardiac SERCA2a, most likely by direct interaction with PLB [
64,
65]. It has also been previously concluded that EA is the activator of myocardial SERCA2a [
35]. Diabetes mellitus-induced myocardial diastolic dysfunction is partly caused by a reduction in SERCA2a function and can be ameliorated by SERCA activators, including ellagic acid.
However, we found for the first time a direct stimulating effect of EA on SERCA1. According to our results, EA concentration-dependently increased SERCA1 activity with EC
50 = 33.19 µM. The experimental results were in agreement with the molecular modeling, suggesting that EA interacts with Glu439 and Arg174 via hydrogen bonds. In the presence of MGX and palmitate, EA exerted protective effects on SERCA1 activity under conditions of oxidative stress. The protective effects of EA in SR against oxidative stress may be associated either with its antioxidant effect (which is relatively low) or with its more feasible interaction with SERCA1. However, of all the agents tested by molecular modeling, EA exerted the lowest antioxidant effect and exhibited the weakest lipophilicity (
Table 1).
In the system of pancreatic INS-1E beta-cells, which contain mostly SERCA2b, EA (10 µM) decreased cell viability, while an increase in insulin secretion was observed at normal as well as elevated concentrations of glucose. We suppose that there exists a time delay between the effects of EA on viability and the insulin release in cells, which may be an adaptive reaction to a decrease in cell viability. Despite a decrease in cell viability induced by EA alone, a protective effect of EA in conditions of palmitate-induced oxidative stress was observed. In the presence of palmitate, EA (10 µM) exerted a time-dependent increase in beta-cell viability. EA (50 µM) was effective only at 15 and 24 h of incubation. The protective effect of EA may be caused by its antioxidant effects induced via the PPARγ signaling pathway [
66]. However, no protective effect of EA on the viability of INS-1E cells in MGX-induced oxidative stress was observed.
Regulation of the mRNA and proteins of p38-MAPK, MEKK1, and c-Jun by EA, which in turn upregulates PPARγ expression, immediately followed by caspase-3 activation, finally leads to necrosis, apoptosis, and cell death [
67].
This is probably a dual effect, with, on the one hand, the presence of EA leading to apoptosis through caspase-3 activation and, on the other hand, EA protecting cells from MGX via antioxidant activity and against palmitate damage through sirtuin activation. Other authors concluded that EA lowered glucose and lipid levels in type 2 diabetic animals by inhibiting beta-cell apoptosis and stimulating insulin production [
68]. Our results are in line with the conclusions of Qiu et al. [
67], who performed experiments at the cell level. On the other hand, Harakeh et al. [
68] used diabetic animals for their experiments. According to Harakeh et al. [
68], STZ causes a notable reduction in insulin release by the destruction of pancreatic beta-cells, which may lead to an increase in glucose levels. A significant decrease in glucose level was observed in EA-treated diabetic rats compared with non-treated rats [
68]. One possible mechanism of glucose decrease may be the potentiation of the pancreatic release of insulin from beta-cells. Similarly, we also observed an increase in insulin in beta-cells as a protective effect of EA against oxidative stress induced by palmitate.
Author Contributions
Vladimir Heger, Mgr., Ph.D.: experimental and validation work, visualization, collection of resources, editing. Barbora Benesova, Ph.D. student: experimental work. Magdalena Majekova, Dr., Ph.D.: molecular modeling. Petronela Rezbarikova, Mgr., Ph.D.: collection of resources and editing. Attila Huynadi, Dr., Ph.D.: conceptualization and supervised Ph.D. students preparing and analyzing curcumin, gingerol, and their derivatives. Gábor Girst, Ph.D. student: preparing curcumin and THCU, evaluation of NMR spectra. Sara Hassan Hassan Ahmed, Ph.D. student: all work concerning [6]-gingerol and [6]-shogaol. Tímea Gonda, postdoc: conceptualization and started all studies on ginger and co-supervised Sara Ahmed’s work on this. Lubica Horakova, Dr., Ph.D., corresponding author: conceptualization and writing of the manuscript, supervised Barbora Benesova.