Muscone

Muscone is a bioactive component of musk ^[1] and acts as a potent anti-inflammatory agent, reducing proinflammatory cytokines and end-plate degeneration ^[2]. It is used to treat various disorders and diseases, including antitumor ^[3], anti-dementia ^[4]and ischemic heart disease ^[5].

Muscone protects PC12 cells from glutamate-induced apoptosis by reducing ROS generation and Ca²⁺ influx through NR1 and CaMKII-dependent ASK-1/JNK/p38 signaling pathways. In PC12 cells, a 1-hour pretreatment with 10 µM muscone significantly ameliorates glutamate-induced loss of cell viability, mitochondrial membrane potential (MMP) collapse, lactate dehydrogenase (LDH) release, Ca²⁺ overload, ROS generation, and cell apoptosis ^[6].

Muscone (2 mg/kg/d, three weeks, oral) significantly improved cardiac function and survival rate in MI mice, primarily by inhibiting the activation of NF-κB and NLRP3 inflammasomes, thereby alleviating chronic inflammation mediated by cardiac macrophages ^[7].

References:
[1]. Wang J, Xing H, Qin X, Ren Q, Yang J, Li L. Pharmacological effects and mechanisms of muscone. J Ethnopharmacol. 2020 Nov 15;262:113120. doi: 10.1016/j.jep.2020.113120.
[2]. Liang Q Q, Zhang M, Zhou Q, et al. Muscone protects vertebral end-plate degeneration by antiinflammatory property[J]. Clinical Orthopaedics and Related Research, 2010, 468(6): 1600-1610.
[3]. Yonghui L, Jing C, Lujun X, et al. Effects of musk ketone on the growth of blood stasis breast cancer model and expression of VEGF. J. Xi’an Jiaotong Univ. (Med. Sci.) 2014, 35 (4), 547-250.
[4]. Liping H, Jingyao, H. Anti-dementia effect of musctone on D-galactose-induced dementia mice. J. Jiangxi Univ. Tradit. Chin. Med. 2002, 14 (1), 35–36.
[5]. Du Y, Ge Y, Xu Z, et al. Hypoxia-Inducible Factor 1 alpha (HIF-1α)/Vascular Endothelial Growth Factor (VEGF) Pathway Participates in Angiogenesis of Myocardial Infarction in Muscone-Treated Mice: Preliminary Study. Med Sci Monit. 2018 Dec 8;24:8870-8877.
[6]. Yu L, Wang N, Zhang Y, et al. Neuroprotective effect of muscone on glutamate-induced apoptosis in PC12 cells via antioxidant and Ca²⁺antagonism. Neurochem Int. 2014 May;70:10-21.
[7]. Du Y, Gu X, Meng H, et al. Muscone improves cardiac function in mice after myocardial infarction by alleviating cardiac macrophage-mediated chronic inflammation through inhibition of NF-κB and NLRP3 inflammasome. Am J Transl Res. 2018 Dec 15;10(12):4235-4246.

Muscone是麝香中的一种生物活性成分^[1]，具有强效的抗炎作用，能够减少促炎细胞因子和终板退化^[2]。它用于治疗多种疾病和病症，包括抗肿瘤^[3]、抗痴呆^[4]和缺血性心脏病^[5]。

Muscone通过NR1和CaMKII依赖的ASK-1/JNK/p38信号通路，减少ROS生成和Ca²⁺内流，从而保护PC12细胞免受谷氨酸诱导的凋亡。在PC12细胞中，10 µM麝香酮预处理1小时，显著改善了谷氨酸诱导的细胞活力丧失、线粒体膜电位（MMP）崩溃、乳酸脱氢酶（LDH）释放、Ca²⁺超载、ROS生成和细胞凋亡^[6]。

Muscone（2 mg/kg/d，口服三周）显著改善了心肌梗死（MI）小鼠的心脏功能和存活率，主要通过抑制NF-κB和NLRP3炎症小体的活化，缓解由心脏巨噬细胞介导的慢性炎症^[7]。