Amino Acid Composition, Antioxidant, and Cytoprotective Effect of Blue Mussel ( Mytilus edulis ) Hydrolysate through the Inhibition of Caspase-3 Activation in Oxidative Stress-Mediated Endothelial Cell Injury

摘要

Enhanced oxidative stress plays a central role in promoting endothelial dysfunction, leading to the development of atherosclerosis. In this study, we investigated the protective effects of the hydrolysates derived from blue mussel ( Mytilus edulis ) against H 2 O 2 -mediated oxidative injury in human umbilical vein endothelial cells (HUVECs). The blue mussel hydrolysates were prepared by enzymatic hydrolysis with eight proteases, and blue mussel-α-chymotrypsin hydrolysate (BMCH) showed the highest antioxidant activities in DPPH radical scavenging, ABTS + radical scavenging, and ORAC value compared to those of the other hydrolysates. BMCH also inhibited Cu 2+ -mediated low density lipoprotein (LDL) oxidation. Treatment of H 2 O 2 resulted in the decreased HUVEC viability whereas pre-treatment with BMCH increased HUVEC viability and reduced reactive oxygen species (ROS) generation. BMCH pre-treatment increased cellular antioxidant capacities, including levels of glutathione (GSH), superoxide dismutase (SOD), catalase (CAT), and glutathione peroxidase (GPx) against H 2 O 2 -mediated oxidative stress in HUVECs. Flow cytometry and western blot analysis revealed that BMCH pre-treatment significantly reduced H 2 O 2 -mediated HUVEC apoptosis through inhibition of caspase-3 activation. Real-time-qPCR analysis showed that BMCH down-regulated expression of p53 and caspase-3 genes, as well as decreased the bax/bcl-2 ratio. Taken together, these results indicate that BMCH may be useful as functional food ingredients for protecting endothelial dysfunction or related disease.