Rosmarinic acid attenuates acrylamide induced apoptosis of BRL-3A cells by inhibiting oxidative stress and endoplasmic reticulum stress.

Acrylamide (AA) is a common endogenous contaminant in food, with a complex toxicity mechanism. The study on liver damage to experimental animals caused by AA has aroused a great attention. Rosmarinic acid (RosA) as a natural antioxidant shows excellent protective effects against AA-induced hepatotoxicity, but the potential mechanism is still unclear. In the current study, the protective effect of RosA on BRL-3A cell damage induced by AA was explored. RosA increased the activity of SOD and GSH, reduced the content of ROS and MDA, and significantly reduced the oxidative stress (OS) damage of BRL-3A cells induced by AA. RosA pretreatment inhibited the MAPK signaling pathway activated by AA, and down-regulated the phosphorylation of JNK, ERK and p38. RosA pretreatment also reduced the production of calcium ions caused by AA. In addition, the key proteins p-IRE1α, XBP-1s, TRAF2 of the IRE1 pathway, and the expression of endoplasmic reticulum stress (ERS) characteristic proteins GRP78, p-ASK1, Caspase-12 and CHOP were also down-regulated by RosA. NAC blocked the activation of the MAPK signaling pathway and inhibited the ERS pathway. RosA reduced the rate of apoptosis and down-regulated the expression of Bax/Bcl-2 and Caspase-3, thereby inhibiting AA-induced apoptosis. In conclusion, RosA reduced the OS and ERS induced by AA in BRL-3A cells, thereby inhibiting cell apoptosis, and it could be used as a potential protective agent against AA toxicity.