Frontiers in PhysiologyPub Date : 2026-04-21eCollection Date: 2026-01-01DOI: 10.3389/fphys.2026.1840059
Qiuxia Li, Quanjiang Zhang
{"title":"Editorial: Mechanisms and novel therapeutic targets and approaches for mitochondrial dysfunction in neurological and cardiovascular diseases.","authors":"Qiuxia Li, Quanjiang Zhang","doi":"10.3389/fphys.2026.1840059","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.3389/fphys.2026.1840059","url":null,"abstract":"","PeriodicalId":12477,"journal":{"name":"Frontiers in Physiology","volume":"17 ","pages":"1840059"},"PeriodicalIF":3.2,"publicationDate":"2026-04-21","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC13138922/pdf/","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"147836174","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":3,"RegionCategory":"医学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"OA","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Frontiers in PhysiologyPub Date : 2026-04-21eCollection Date: 2026-01-01DOI: 10.3389/fphys.2026.1785584
Lan Li, Victoria Anthony Uyanga, Hongchao Jiao, Jingpeng Zhao, Xiaojuan Wang, Haifang Li, Koukou Tona, Hai Lin
{"title":"Respiratory efficiency and thermoregulatory responses of L-citrulline-supplemented broiler chickens under acute and chronic stress conditions.","authors":"Lan Li, Victoria Anthony Uyanga, Hongchao Jiao, Jingpeng Zhao, Xiaojuan Wang, Haifang Li, Koukou Tona, Hai Lin","doi":"10.3389/fphys.2026.1785584","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.3389/fphys.2026.1785584","url":null,"abstract":"<p><strong>Introduction: </strong>Poultry birds are exposed to diverse environmental stressors, including high ambient temperatures and endotoxins, which negatively affect the birds' health and productivity. This study investigated the impacts of both stressors and the mediatory role of dietary L-citrulline (LCT) on the physiological responses of broiler chickens.</p><p><strong>Methods: </strong>A total of 384, 1-day-old broiler chicks were randomly divided into 4 groups, 8 replicates of 12 chicks, and fed two dietary treatments of basal diet (CON) or basal diet supplemented with 1% LCT. At 21 days old, broilers were subjected to acute conditions of heat stress (HT:35 ℃ vs thermoneutral (TNZ:24 ℃); experiment 1) or immune stress (2 mg/kg BW lipopolysaccharide (LPS) or saline; experiment 2) and monitored for 5hours in a respiratory chamber. In the chronic LPS challenge (experiment 3), birds at 41days old were administered 1 mg/kg BW LPS at 1, 6, and 24 hours.</p><p><strong>Results and discussion: </strong>Exposure to HT conditions elevated the body temperature, O2 consumption, CO2 expiration, and heat production (HP) of broilers (P>0.05). Broilers fed the LCT diet also exhibited increased O2 consumption, CO2 expiration, and HP relative to the CON diet (P>0.05). Contrastingly, acute LPS challenge reduced the O2 consumption, CO2 expiration and HP. The provision of dietary LCT tended to reduce the core body temperature (CBT) of HT broilers and exerted significant effects by decreasing the CBT of LPS-challenged broilers (P>0.05). LCT supplementation also diminished the respiratory quotient (RQ) of broilers exposed to either HT or LPS compared to the unchallenged LCT groups, which had elevated RQ (P>0.05). The plasma inducible nitric oxide synthase levels were reduced by the LCT diet, with a consequent decline in plasma NO concentrations in experiment 3. Examining the mRNA expression of thermosensing TRP ion channels revealed that HT upregulated hypothalamic TRPV1 expression, whereas chronic LPS downregulated skin TRPV2 and TRPA1 expressions. In addition, the co-treatment of LPS with LCT further evoked a decline in skin TRPA1 expressions (P>0.05).</p><p><strong>Conclusion: </strong>Overall, this work demonstrated the capacity of HT and LPS challenge to dysregulate whole-body metabolism and the potential of dietary LCT to exert mediatory effects, which may be crucial for the reestablishment of homeostasis.</p>","PeriodicalId":12477,"journal":{"name":"Frontiers in Physiology","volume":"17 ","pages":"1785584"},"PeriodicalIF":3.2,"publicationDate":"2026-04-21","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC13139027/pdf/","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"147836153","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":3,"RegionCategory":"医学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"OA","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
{"title":"Correction: Recent advances in training intensity distribution theory for cyclic endurance sports: theoretical foundations, model comparisons, and periodization characteristics.","authors":"Qihao Sun, Yin Yu, Jiayue Cui, Simin Lin, Xiaohan Wang, Tian Zhou","doi":"10.3389/fphys.2026.1845248","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.3389/fphys.2026.1845248","url":null,"abstract":"<p><p>[This corrects the article DOI: 10.3389/fphys.2025.1657892.].</p>","PeriodicalId":12477,"journal":{"name":"Frontiers in Physiology","volume":"17 ","pages":"1845248"},"PeriodicalIF":3.2,"publicationDate":"2026-04-21","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC13138972/pdf/","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"147835956","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":3,"RegionCategory":"医学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"OA","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Frontiers in PhysiologyPub Date : 2026-04-20eCollection Date: 2026-01-01DOI: 10.3389/fphys.2026.1760238
Chetan K Gomatam, Swathy Krishna, Jeovanna Lowe, Esther Silver, Christoph Lepper, Jill A Rafael-Fortney
{"title":"Direct aldosterone stimulation of skeletal muscle fibroblasts changes gene expression and differentially affects fibroblast functions from normal and diseased muscles.","authors":"Chetan K Gomatam, Swathy Krishna, Jeovanna Lowe, Esther Silver, Christoph Lepper, Jill A Rafael-Fortney","doi":"10.3389/fphys.2026.1760238","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.3389/fphys.2026.1760238","url":null,"abstract":"<p><strong>Introduction: </strong>Fibroblasts are critical for stabilizing skeletal muscle and facilitating wound healing after injury but become overactivated and lead to fibrotic replacement of muscle tissue in chronic degenerative diseases such as Duchenne muscular dystrophy (DMD). We have previously shown that the mineralocorticoid receptor (MR) is present in skeletal muscle and MR antagonist drugs reduce fibrosis and chronic inflammation in dystrophic mouse models. Indirect MR signaling from other cell types in the muscle microenvironment affects fibroblast gene expression and function. However, the direct effects of MR activation of skeletal muscle fibroblasts are unknown.</p><p><strong>Methods: </strong>To determine whether direct stimulation with the endogenous MR agonist aldosterone changes gene expression in skeletal muscle fibroblasts, we performed RNA sequencing comparing fibroblasts isolated from neonatal wild-type skeletal muscles treated with aldosterone or vehicle. To further investigate the effects of aldosterone treatment of fibroblasts in skeletal muscle health and disease, we then performed <i>in vitro</i> proliferation and migration assays on fibroblasts isolated from neonatal and adult wild-type and dystrophic muscles.</p><p><strong>Results: </strong>Treatment with aldosterone leads to differential expression of 492 genes in fibroblasts isolated from neonatal wild-type mouse muscles. Protein levels of differentially expressed genes Fkbp5, p57 and c-Fos were also increased by direct aldosterone stimulation of fibroblasts from both wild-type and dystrophic muscles. Surprisingly, cultured fibroblasts from both neonatal wild-type and dystrophic muscles retain a higher proliferation rate compared to adult muscle fibroblasts. Direct aldosterone treatment represses proliferation and slows scratch-wound closure kinetics only in fibroblasts isolated from adult dystrophic skeletal muscle.</p><p><strong>Discussion: </strong>This study shows that aldosterone treatment of skeletal muscle fibroblasts alters gene expression. However, fibroblasts from adult dystrophic muscle appear most sensitive to gene expression changes after short-term aldosterone treatment. These data suggest that MR signaling in the skeletal muscle microenvironment may differentially affect fibroblasts in wound healing and in chronic fibrotic diseases such as muscular dystrophies.</p>","PeriodicalId":12477,"journal":{"name":"Frontiers in Physiology","volume":"17 ","pages":"1760238"},"PeriodicalIF":3.2,"publicationDate":"2026-04-20","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC13135972/pdf/","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"147836140","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":3,"RegionCategory":"医学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"OA","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Frontiers in PhysiologyPub Date : 2026-04-20eCollection Date: 2026-01-01DOI: 10.3389/fphys.2026.1782998
Amrendra Kumar, Eleanora Margulis, Nelli Mnatsakanyan
{"title":"Investigation of mitochondrial inner membrane ion conductance by planar lipid bilayer electrophysiology.","authors":"Amrendra Kumar, Eleanora Margulis, Nelli Mnatsakanyan","doi":"10.3389/fphys.2026.1782998","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.3389/fphys.2026.1782998","url":null,"abstract":"<p><p>Mitochondrial ion channels are proteins of the inner and outer mitochondrial membranes that regulate ion flux and control various cellular processes, including calcium signaling, bioenergetic and metabolic functions, and cell death. Their precise regulation is essential to maintaining normal mitochondrial function and preventing pathological processes. Patch-clamp and planar lipid bilayer electrophysiology techniques have been used to measure ion flow directly across the membrane, thereby revealing the gating kinetics and pharmacological profile of ion channels in real time. Here, we describe a planar lipid bilayer electrophysiology approach for assessing mitochondrial ion channel conductance using mitochondrial inner membrane vesicles (IMVs). The comparative electrophysiology analysis between IMVs and purified mitochondrial proteins, ATP synthase, and the adenine nucleotide translocator (ANT), demonstrates that planar lipid bilayer electrophysiology is a robust tool for biophysical characterization of mitochondrial ion channels using IMVs. This approach is particularly valuable for investigating ion channel properties under controlled yet physiologically relevant conditions and for evaluating the direct modulatory effects of different pharmacological agents.</p>","PeriodicalId":12477,"journal":{"name":"Frontiers in Physiology","volume":"17 ","pages":"1782998"},"PeriodicalIF":3.2,"publicationDate":"2026-04-20","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC13137367/pdf/","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"147836190","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":3,"RegionCategory":"医学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"OA","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Frontiers in PhysiologyPub Date : 2026-04-20eCollection Date: 2026-01-01DOI: 10.3389/fphys.2026.1854612
Anežka Hurtová, Marta Gimunová, Michaela Beníčková
{"title":"Correction: Resting metabolic rate fluctuations across the menstrual cycle: a systematic review.","authors":"Anežka Hurtová, Marta Gimunová, Michaela Beníčková","doi":"10.3389/fphys.2026.1854612","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.3389/fphys.2026.1854612","url":null,"abstract":"<p><p>[This corrects the article DOI: 10.3389/fphys.2026.1778735.].</p>","PeriodicalId":12477,"journal":{"name":"Frontiers in Physiology","volume":"17 ","pages":"1854612"},"PeriodicalIF":3.2,"publicationDate":"2026-04-20","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC13136963/pdf/","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"147836123","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":3,"RegionCategory":"医学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"OA","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
{"title":"Relationship between lower limb neuromuscular and functional performance tests and sprint and agility in female volleyball players: a cross-sectional study.","authors":"Soner Akgün, Müjde Atıcı, Akan Bayrakdar, Esra Korkmaz Salkılıç, Berna Anıl, Enes Akdemir, Dilara Kumru, Kenan Şebin, Yener Aksoy, Ali Kerim Yılmaz","doi":"10.3389/fphys.2026.1827693","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.3389/fphys.2026.1827693","url":null,"abstract":"<p><strong>Background: </strong>The aim of the study was to examine the relationship between vertical and horizontal neuromuscular and functional jump tests applied to the lower extremities of female volleyball players and their agility and sprint performance.</p><p><strong>Methods: </strong>22 women aged 18-25 (average age 20.18, average height 173 cm, average weight 58.36 kg, and average body mass index (BMI) 19.63 kg/m²) voluntarily participated in the study. The sprint test (10m-30m) and 505 Agility tests were used to determine participants' sprint and agility skills, respectively. Additionally, the countermovement jump (CMJ), drop jump (DJ), and five different single-leg hop tests (SLHTs)-single-leg hop for distance (SH), triple hop for distance (TH), crossover hop for distance (CH), medial side triple hop (MSTH), and medial rotation hop (MRH)-were used to determine lower-extremity neuromuscular and functional jump performance.</p><p><strong>Results: </strong>The results of the study revealed a moderate to high negative correlation between CMJ and DJ and sprint tests (p<0.05). A negative and moderately significant correlation was observed between CMJ and agility (p<0.05), but the correlation between DJ and agility was not significant (p>0.05). A moderate to high negative correlation was found between SLHTs and sprint and agility (p<0.05). Also, there was no significant difference between participants' dominant (D) and non-dominant (ND) side SLHT jump distances (p>0.05), and limb symmetry indices (LSI) were within the normal range.</p><p><strong>Conclusions: </strong>In conclusion, it was determined that lower extremity neuromuscular and functional vertical and horizontal (neuromuscular and functional) strength plays a critical role in linear acceleration and change of direction performance in female volleyball players. It has been suggested that not only vertical jump tests but also horizontal functional jump tests such as SLHTs should be more comprehensively investigated in relation to sprinting and agility in female volleyball players.</p>","PeriodicalId":12477,"journal":{"name":"Frontiers in Physiology","volume":"17 ","pages":"1827693"},"PeriodicalIF":3.2,"publicationDate":"2026-04-20","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC13135932/pdf/","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"147836220","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":3,"RegionCategory":"医学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"OA","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Frontiers in PhysiologyPub Date : 2026-04-20eCollection Date: 2026-01-01DOI: 10.3389/fphys.2026.1761135
Jiaxin Zhang, Jia Quan, Yifan Luo, Zongli Zhang, Tao Li, Shibing Xi
{"title":"Hyperoxia promotes bronchopulmonary dysplasia via Noggin-mediated BMP4 antagonism and cellular senescence.","authors":"Jiaxin Zhang, Jia Quan, Yifan Luo, Zongli Zhang, Tao Li, Shibing Xi","doi":"10.3389/fphys.2026.1761135","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.3389/fphys.2026.1761135","url":null,"abstract":"<p><p>Bronchopulmonary dysplasia (BPD) represents the most prevalent chronic pulmonary complication in preterm infants, with incompletely understood pathophysiological mechanisms. Hyperoxia exposure constitutes a major risk factor for BPD development, inducing cellular senescence that impairs alveolar maturation. While senescence is predominantly mediated by the p53/p21 signaling pathway, upstream regulatory mechanisms remain inadequately defined. This study aimed to identify critical genes through bioinformatics and elucidate the molecular mechanisms by which the Noggin-BMP4 signaling axis mediates cellular senescence in BPD pathogenesis. Integrating BPD transcriptomic datasets with aging-related databases via WGCNA, Noggin was identified as a hub gene linking BPD and cellular senescence (AUC = 0.80). In HPMECs exposed to 85% hyperoxia, Noggin expression increased approximately 2.5-fold (mRNA) and 2.0-fold (protein), while BMP4 decreased to 50% of controls, accompanied by elevated p53 and p21 expression and positive SA-β-gal staining. Noggin silencing restored BMP4 expression and significantly attenuated hyperoxia-induced p53/p21 upregulation, suggesting that Noggin promotes senescence by suppressing BMP4. In a neonatal rat hyperoxia-induced BPD model, alveolar simplification was observed alongside a threefold increase in Noggin mRNA, a reduction of BMP4 to 30% of controls, and elevated p53/p21 at day 14, corroborating the <i>in vitro</i> findings. These findings suggest that hyperoxia upregulates Noggin to antagonize BMP4 signaling, thereby activating p53/p21-mediated senescence and contributing to alveolar developmental arrest. The Noggin-BMP4 axis may represent a potential therapeutic target for BPD.</p>","PeriodicalId":12477,"journal":{"name":"Frontiers in Physiology","volume":"17 ","pages":"1761135"},"PeriodicalIF":3.2,"publicationDate":"2026-04-20","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC13136015/pdf/","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"147836246","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":3,"RegionCategory":"医学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"OA","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Frontiers in PhysiologyPub Date : 2026-04-20eCollection Date: 2026-01-01DOI: 10.3389/fphys.2026.1719722
Sarah Al Omari, Charlotte Moeyersons, Arne Defour, David Haslacher, Bart Jansen, David Beckwée, Eva Swinnen, Mahyar Firouzi
{"title":"Dynamics of brain-muscle interaction with neuromuscular fatigability: systematic review.","authors":"Sarah Al Omari, Charlotte Moeyersons, Arne Defour, David Haslacher, Bart Jansen, David Beckwée, Eva Swinnen, Mahyar Firouzi","doi":"10.3389/fphys.2026.1719722","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.3389/fphys.2026.1719722","url":null,"abstract":"<p><strong>Introduction: </strong>Neuromuscular fatigability impairs motor performance in both healthy and neurological populations. Corticomuscular coherence (CMC), derived from EEG and EMG recordings, reflects the brain-muscle interaction during movement. However, the impact of neuromuscular fatigability on CMC in healthy and neurological populations remains unclear.</p><p><strong>Methods: </strong>A systematic search of PubMed, Web of Science, and Embase was conducted up to 02/02/2026. Eligible studies investigated CMC changes related to fatiguing tasks in healthy or neurological participants. Two reviewers independently screened, extracted data, and assessed the risk of bias.</p><p><strong>Results: </strong>Fifteen non-randomized experimental studies were included, comprising predominantly neurologically healthy adults (n= 174) and a limited number of individuals with neurological conditions (n= 14). Fatiguing tasks varied widely in muscle group, contraction type, mode, and intensity. Across studies, neuromuscular fatigability was associated with heterogeneous changes in CMC, most commonly involving reductions in beta band coherence as fatigue progressed. However, preserved or increased beta band CMC was also reported in both upper- and lower-limb tasks, particularly during sustained or low- to moderate-intensity contractions. Alpha and gamma band CMC were less reported across the included studies. No consistent or limb-specific pattern of CMC modulation emerged, with observed responses depending on task demands, contraction intensity, muscle group, and stage of fatigue. Evidence from neurological populations was sparse but suggested generally lower CMC magnitude and greater disruption during fatiguing tasks compared with healthy controls.</p><p><strong>Discussion: </strong>These findings indicate that fatigue-related changes in CMC do not reflect a uniform loss of corticomuscular coupling but rather task- and context-dependent adaptations in brain-muscle communication. Reductions in CMC may reflect diminished efficacy of corticospinal synchronization, whereas preserved or increased coherence may represent stabilization to maintain motor output with fatigue. By synthesizing how neuromuscular fatigability reshapes CMC across different experimental contexts and highlighting key methodological limitations, this review provides a framework to inform the design of future rehabilitation or neuromodulation trials targeting fatigability in both healthy and neurological populations.</p>","PeriodicalId":12477,"journal":{"name":"Frontiers in Physiology","volume":"17 ","pages":"1719722"},"PeriodicalIF":3.2,"publicationDate":"2026-04-20","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC13135960/pdf/","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"147836077","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":3,"RegionCategory":"医学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"OA","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Frontiers in PhysiologyPub Date : 2026-04-20eCollection Date: 2026-01-01DOI: 10.3389/fphys.2026.1796160
Jiasi Zhang, Qingwen Li, Yilan Dai, Shuaiheng Hou, Xuan Peng, Ji Zhang, Nianqiao Gong
{"title":"Methyl eugenol attenuates age-associated oxidative fragility by coupling Ca<sup>2+</sup>-calpain inhibition with Band 3 stabilization in human erythrocytes.","authors":"Jiasi Zhang, Qingwen Li, Yilan Dai, Shuaiheng Hou, Xuan Peng, Ji Zhang, Nianqiao Gong","doi":"10.3389/fphys.2026.1796160","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.3389/fphys.2026.1796160","url":null,"abstract":"<p><strong>Background: </strong>Human erythrocytes serve as an ideal model for cellular aging, a process where longevity relies on membrane scaffold integrity. The oxidative deterioration of Band 3, a major integral membrane protein, is a central driver of this senescence. This study investigated whether methyl eugenol (ME) stabilizes Band 3 against age-associated oxidative fragility.</p><p><strong>Methods: </strong>Erythrocytes were challenged with H<sub>2</sub>O<sub>2</sub> to simulate age-associated oxidative injury. Damage was evaluated via hemolysis assays, SEM, and flow cytometry. Sulfate (SO<sub>4</sub> <sup>2-</sup>) uptake kinetics and Western blotting were employed to assess Band 3 anion exchange function and structural stability. <i>In silico</i> docking simulated interactions between ME metabolites and the Band 3 structure. Physiological relevance was validated in a human cohort (n = 81; 20-90 years) via regression and stratified analyses of glutathione (GSH) and malondialdehyde (MDA) levels.</p><p><strong>Results: </strong>ME exhibited an optimal protective concentration at 2 µM, effectively preserving biconcave morphology and attenuating hemolysis. Treatment significantly mitigated intracellular oxidative stress and rescued cell viability. Mechanistically, ME suppressed the pathological increase in intracellular Ca<sup>2+</sup> concentration and inhibited calpain activity. Functionally, ME significantly restored sulfate transport rates. Western blotting confirmed that ME specifically preserved the full-length (100 kDa) and cytoplasmic (43 kDa) domains of Band 3, whereas the 55 kDa transmembrane domain remained largely unaffected. Docking simulations predicted a specific interaction with residue ARG292 within the cytoplasmic domain, suggesting a structural basis for this stabilization. In the donor cohort, ME extended the projected GSH half-life (from 47.14 to 64.14 years) and reduced maximal lipid peroxidation by ~40%.</p><p><strong>Conclusion: </strong>ME mitigates oxidative eryptosis by coupling Ca<sup>2+</sup>-calpain inhibition with site-specific Band 3 stabilization, offering a rationale for using ME to standardize erythrocyte quality and reduce age-associated fragility.</p>","PeriodicalId":12477,"journal":{"name":"Frontiers in Physiology","volume":"17 ","pages":"1796160"},"PeriodicalIF":3.2,"publicationDate":"2026-04-20","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC13135961/pdf/","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"147836242","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":3,"RegionCategory":"医学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"OA","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}