The effect of autophagy activation on apoptosis and myofibrillar structural proteins during the post-mortem storage of Esox lucius

  • Food Chem. 2025 Jun 24:491:145210. doi: 10.1016/j.foodchem.2025.145210.
Xuemei Fan  1 ,  Yibo Liu  1 ,  Xin Guo  1 ,  Yabo Wei  1 ,  Pingping Liu  1 ,  Hui Li  1 ,  Xin Chen  1 ,  Xiaorong Deng  1 ,  Yongdong Lei  2 ,  Jian Zhang  3
Affiliations
  • 1. School of Food Science and Technology, Shihezi University, Shihezi, Xinjiang 832000, China; Key Laboratory of Characteristics Agricultural Product Processing and Quality Control (Co-construction by Ministry and Province), Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Affairs, School of Food Science and Technology, Shihezi University, Shihezi, Xinjiang 832000, China; Key Laboratory for Food Nutrition and Safety Control of Xinjiang Production and Construction Corps, School of Food Science and Technology, Shihezi University, Shihezi, Xinjiang 832003, China.
  • 2. Key Laboratory of Characteristics Agricultural Product Processing and Quality Control (Co-construction by Ministry and Province), Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Affairs, School of Food Science and Technology, Shihezi University, Shihezi, Xinjiang 832000, China; Food Quality Supervision and Testing Center of Ministry of Agriculture, Xinjiang Academy of Agricultural and Reclamation Science, Shihezi, Xinjiang 832003, China. Electronic address: [email protected].
  • 3. School of Food Science and Technology, Shihezi University, Shihezi, Xinjiang 832000, China; Key Laboratory of Characteristics Agricultural Product Processing and Quality Control (Co-construction by Ministry and Province), Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Affairs, School of Food Science and Technology, Shihezi University, Shihezi, Xinjiang 832000, China; Key Laboratory for Food Nutrition and Safety Control of Xinjiang Production and Construction Corps, School of Food Science and Technology, Shihezi University, Shihezi, Xinjiang 832003, China. Electronic address: [email protected].
PMID: 40577901 DOI: 10.1016/j.foodchem.2025.145210
Abstract

This study surveyed the regulatory role of Autophagy in mitochondrial Apoptosis and myofibrillar structural proteins degradation in postmortem fish muscle. Using 3-methyladenine (3-MA), a model of Autophagy inhibition was established. Results showed that 3-MA significantly suppressed Autophagy by downregulating Beclin-1 expression (by 24.19 % at 120 h) and the LC3-II/LC3-I ratio, upregulating p62 expression, and inhibiting autophagosome formation. This inhibition stabilized mitochondrial membrane potential (ΔΨm) and attenuated apoptotic signaling by reducing the Bax/Bcl-2 ratio, cytochrome c release(by 37.83 % at 120 h), and Caspase-3/9 activity. Consequently, it slowed the degradation of troponin-T in the early stage and titin, actin, and desmin (reduced by 16.37 % at 120 h) in the later stage, preserving myofibril integrity, reducing myofibril fragmentation index (MFI) and increasing shear force, and improving muscle texture. These results demonstrated that Autophagy contributes to the degradation of myofibrillar structural proteins by facilitating mitochondrial Apoptosis.

Keywords
3-MA; Autophagy; Esox Lucius; Mitochondrial apoptosis; Myofibrillar structural proteins.
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