Abstract
Heat stress, as a kind of oxidative stress, induces cell apoptosis. Apoptosis is a form of programmed cell death, and mitochondria play an important role in apoptosis. Manganese (Mn) has an antioxidant capacity by enhancing the activity of manganese superoxide dismutase (MnSOD). To investigate the potential effect of Mn on heat stress-induced apoptosis and mitochondrial function, we examined crucial related factors in the context of heat stress using primary chick embryonic myocardial cells pretreated with Mn for 24 h. The results showed that Mn restored the heat stress-induced decrease in cell viability and reduced the activities of caspase-3 (P < 0.05). The repression of the Δψm and intracellular ATP content caused by heat stress was reversed dramatically in the Mn pretreatment group (P < 0.05). Additionally, Mn inhibited heat stress-induced mitochondrial fission, as shown by decreased mitochondrial fission-related protein dynamin-related protein 1 (Drp1) expression and increased mitochondrial fusion-related protein optic atrophy 1 (Opa1) and mitofusin 1 (Mfn1) (P < 0.05) in primary chick embryonic myocardial cells. It was concluded that Mn attenuates the mitochondrial-mediated apoptosis pathway and sustains mitochondrial structure and function under heat stress in primary chick embryonic myocardial cells.