Although methylene blue (MB) has showed strong antioxidant effect, its effect related with heme oxygenase-1 (HO-1) is still unclear. Thus, we investigated the effects of MB on HO-1 protein content and enzyme activity, and its protective effect against hydrogen peroxide (H2O2)-induced oxidative damage in RAW264.7 macrophage. The cell viability and the release of lactate dehydrogenase of RAW264.7 were determined. The mitochondrial functions were valuated through these indexes: content of adenosine triphosphate, superoxide dismutase, concentration of reactive oxygen species and mitochondrial membrane potential. Meanwhile, high content screening tested generation of ROS, MMP and intracellular concentration of calcium ion. qRT-PCR valuated macrophage phenotype markers expression. Lastly, flow cytometry and caspase-3 detection analyzed RAW264.7 apoptosis. Our data showed that (1) Both pretreatment and posttreatment of MB increased HO-1 protein content and enzyme activity; (2) MB rescued cells from H2O2-induced mitochondrial dysfunction; (3) High content screening revealed that MB alleviated the changes including generation of reactive oxygen species, mitochondrial membrane potential and intracellular concentration of calcium ion in H2O2 exposed RAW264.7; (4) MB attenuated H2O2-induced apoptosis; (5) MB pretreatment decreased the expression of M1 macrophage markers (Tnf and Nos2) while increasing the expression of M2 macrophage markers (Mrc1 and Il10); (6) The beneficial effect of MB was abolished by zinc protoporphyrin IX (HO-1 activity inhibitor) or HO-1 siRNA. In summary, MB protects RAW264.7 cells from H2O2-induced injury through up-regulation HO-1.
