Protective effect of gallic acid on muscle atrophy and grip strength in diabetic mice

Muscle atrophy is a common complication in diabetes mellitus. Gallic acid (GA) possesses multiple biologic effects in hyperglycemia and muscle functions. However, whether GA can ameliorate muscular dystrophy during diabetes is unknown. Our data demonstrated GA alleviated muscle dysfunction by promoting myocyte area and grip strength. In serum, GA enhanced T-AOC, SOD and CAT levels, and reduced MDA, TNF-α and IL-6 levels. In gastrocnemius, GA restrained protein degradation by mitigating F-box protein 32 (FBXO-32) and tripartite motif-containing 63 (TRIM-63) expressions. The mechanism of GA against diabetes-associated muscle atrophy is closely linked to its regulations on endoplasmic reticulum stress by attenuating DDIT-3 (DNA-damage inducible transcript 3) and heat shock protein 5 (HSPA-5) expressions. Moreover, GA improved mitochondria bioactivity by enhancing nuclear respiratory factor 1 (NRF-1) and PPARG coactivator 1 alpha (PGC-1α) expressions. Lastly, GA suppressed apoptosis by increasing BCL2-associated X protein (BAX) expressions and decreasing BCL2 apoptosis regulator (BCL-2) expressions. In conclusion, GA prevented from diabetic myopathy via its regulations of endoplasmic reticulum stress, mitochondria function and apoptosis. These data suggested GA could be a newer strategy against diabetic muscle atrophy.