Amorphous solid dispersion of Berberine mitigates apoptosis via iPLA₂β/Cardiolipin/Opa1 pathway in db/db mice and in Palmitate-treated MIN6 β-cells

Abstract

<b>Aims</b>: Berberine (BBR) improves beta-cell function in Type 2 diabetes (T2D) because of its anti-apoptotic activity, and our laboratory developed a new preparation named Huang-Gui Solid Dispersion (HGSD) to improve the oral bioavailability of BBR. However, the mechanism by which BBR inhibits beta-cell apoptosis is unclear. We hypothesized that the Group VIA Ca²⁺-Independent Phospholipase A₂ (iPLA₂β)/Cardiolipin(CL)/Opa1 signaling pathway could exert a protective role in T2D by regulating beta-cell apoptosis and that HGSD could inhibit β-cell apoptosis through iPLA₂β/CL/Opa1 upregulation. <b>Methods</b>: We examined how iPLA₂β and BBR regulated apoptosis and insulin secretion through CL/Opa1 <i>in vivo</i> and <i>in vitro</i>. In <i>in vitro</i> studies, we developed Palmitate(PA)-induced apoptotic cell death model in mouse insulinoma cells (MIN6). iPLA₂β overexpression and silencing technology were used to examine how the iPLA₂β/CL/Opa1 interaction may play an important role in BBR treatment. In <i>in vivo</i> studies, db/db mice were used as a diabetic animal model. The pancreatic islet function and morphology, beta-cell apoptosis and mitochondrial injury were examined to explore the effects of HGSD. The expression of iPLA₂β/CL/Opa1 was measured to explore whether the signaling pathway was damaged in T2D and was involved in HGSD treatment. <b>Results</b>: The overexpression of iPLA₂β and BBR treatment significantly attenuated Palmitate- induced mitochondrial injury and apoptotic death compared with Palmitate-treated MIN6 cell. In addition, iPLA₂β silencing could simultaneously partly abolish the anti-apoptotic effect of BBR and decrease CL/Opa1 signaling in MIN6 cells. Moreover, HGSD treatment significantly decreased beta-cell apoptosis and resulted in the upregulation of iPLA₂β/CL/Opa1 compared to those of the db/db mice. <b>Conclusion</b>: The results indicated that the regulation of iPLA₂β/CL/Opa1 by HGSD may prevent beta-cell apoptosis and may improve islet beta-cell function in Type 2 diabetic mice and in palmitate-treated MIN6 cells.