scholarly journals Multiple Pathways to the Same End: Mechanisms of Myonuclear Apoptosis in Sarcopenia of Aging

2010 ◽  
Vol 10 ◽  
pp. 340-349 ◽  
Author(s):  
Emanuele Marzetti ◽  
Giuseppe Privitera ◽  
Vincenzo Simili ◽  
Stephanie E. Wohlgemuth ◽  
Lorenzo Aulisa ◽  
...  

Sarcopenia, the age-related decline in muscle mass and function, represents a significant health issue due to the high prevalence of frailty and disability associated with this condition. Nevertheless, the cellular mechanisms responsible for the loss of muscle mass in old age are still largely unknown. An altered regulation of myocyte apoptosis has recently emerged as a possible contributor to the pathogenesis of sarcopenia. Studies in animal models have shown that the severity of skeletal muscle apoptosis increases over the course of aging and correlates with the degree of muscle mass and strength decline. Several apoptotic pathways are operative in aged muscles, with the mitochondria- and TNF-α-mediated pathways likely being the most relevant to sarcopenia. However, despite the growing number of studies on the subject, a definite mechanistic link between myocyte apoptosis and age-related muscle atrophy has not yet been established. Furthermore, the evidence on the role played by apoptosis in human sarcopenia is still sparse. Clearly, further research is required to better define the involvement of myocyte apoptosis in the pathogenesis of muscle loss at advanced age. This knowledge will likely help in the design of more effective therapeutic strategies to preserve muscle mass into old age, thus fostering independence of the elderly population and reducing the socioeconomic burden associated with sarcopenia.

2013 ◽  
Vol 12 (4) ◽  
pp. 86-90 ◽  
Author(s):  
D. U. Akasheva ◽  
E. V. Plokhova ◽  
I. D. Strazhesko ◽  
E. N. Dudinskaya ◽  
O. N. Tkacheva

Ageing is an inevitable process which affects quality of life and reduces life expectancy. Age-related cardiac changes reduce compensatory reserves of the heart and accelerate the disease development. Such changes in cardiac structure and function, observed in the absence of cardiovascular disease (CVD), are considered age-related. However, taking into account the high prevalence of CVD in the elderly, it is problematic to define the genuine cardiac ageing. This review discusses a range of subclinical cardiac conditions which are common in older people. 


2021 ◽  
Vol 4 (1) ◽  
Author(s):  
Anastasiya Börsch ◽  
Daniel J. Ham ◽  
Nitish Mittal ◽  
Lionel A. Tintignac ◽  
Eugenia Migliavacca ◽  
...  

AbstractSarcopenia, the age-related loss of skeletal muscle mass and function, affects 5–13% of individuals aged over 60 years. While rodents are widely-used model organisms, which aspects of sarcopenia are recapitulated in different animal models is unknown. Here we generated a time series of phenotypic measurements and RNA sequencing data in mouse gastrocnemius muscle and analyzed them alongside analogous data from rats and humans. We found that rodents recapitulate mitochondrial changes observed in human sarcopenia, while inflammatory responses are conserved at pathway but not gene level. Perturbations in the extracellular matrix are shared by rats, while mice recapitulate changes in RNA processing and autophagy. We inferred transcription regulators of early and late transcriptome changes, which could be targeted therapeutically. Our study demonstrates that phenotypic measurements, such as muscle mass, are better indicators of muscle health than chronological age and should be considered when analyzing aging-related molecular data.


2015 ◽  
Vol 25 (4) ◽  
pp. 249 ◽  
Author(s):  
Jan Cvecka ◽  
Veronika Tirpakova ◽  
Milan Sedliak ◽  
Helmut Kern ◽  
Winfried Mayr ◽  
...  

Aging is a multifactorial irreversible process associated with significant decline in muscle mass and neuromuscular functions. One of the most efficient methods to counteract age-related changes in muscle mass and function is physical exercise. An alternative effective intervention to improve muscle structure and performance is electrical stimulation. In the present work we present the positive effects of physical activity in elderly and a study where the effects of a 8-week period of functional electrical stimulation and strength training with proprioceptive stimulation in elderly are compared.


Gerontology ◽  
2017 ◽  
Vol 63 (6) ◽  
pp. 580-589 ◽  
Author(s):  
Juan Diego Naranjo ◽  
Jenna L. Dziki ◽  
Stephen F. Badylak

Sarcopenia is a complex and multifactorial disease that includes a decrease in the number, structure and physiology of muscle fibers, and age-related muscle mass loss, and is associated with loss of strength, increased frailty, and increased risk for fractures and falls. Treatment options are suboptimal and consist of exercise and nutrition as the cornerstone of therapy. Current treatment principles involve identification and modification of risk factors to prevent the disease, but these efforts are of limited value to the elderly individuals currently affected by sarcopenia. The development of new and effective therapies for sarcopenia is challenging. Potential therapies can target one or more of the proposed multiple etiologies such as the loss of regenerative capacity of muscle, age-related changes in the expression of signaling molecules such as growth hormone, IGF-1, myostatin, and other endocrine signaling molecules, and age-related changes in muscle physiology like denervation and mitochondrial dysfunction. The present paper reviews regenerative medicine strategies that seek to restore adequate skeletal muscle structure and function including exogenous delivery of cells and pharmacological therapies to induce myogenesis or reverse the physiologic changes that result in the disease. Approaches that modify the microenvironment to provide an environment conducive to reversal and mitigation of the disease represent a potential regenerative medicine approach that is discussed herein.


2018 ◽  
Vol 2018 ◽  
pp. 1-16 ◽  
Author(s):  
Mariangela Marrone ◽  
Rita Maria Laura La Rovere ◽  
Simone Guarnieri ◽  
Ester Sara Di Filippo ◽  
Giovanni Monaco ◽  
...  

Sarcopenia is the age-related loss of skeletal muscle mass, strength, and function. It is associated with regenerative difficulties by satellite cells, adult muscle stem cells, and alteration of oxidative management, mainly the increase in superoxide anions (O2•−). We aimed to investigate the relation between regenerative deficit in elderly and increase in O2•− production along with mitochondrial alterations. Myoblasts and myotubes from skeletal muscle of young and elderly healthy subjects (27.8 ± 6 and 72.4 ± 6.5 years old) were measured: (1) superoxide dismutase activity and protein content, (2) mitochondrial O2•− production levels, (3) O2•− production variability, and (4) mitochondrial bioenergetic profile. Compared to young myoblasts, elderly myoblasts displayed decreased SOD2 protein expression, elevated mitochondrial O2•− baseline levels, and decreased oxidative phosphorylation and glycolysis. Additionally, elderly versus young myotubes showed elevated mitochondrial O2•− levels when stressed with N-acetyl cysteine or high glucose and higher glycolysis despite showing comparable oxidative phosphorylation levels. Altogether, the elderly may have less metabolic plasticity due to the impaired mitochondrial function caused by O2•−. However, the increased energy demand related to the differentiation process appears to activate compensatory mechanisms for the partial mitochondrial dysfunction.


2019 ◽  
Vol 10 (4) ◽  
pp. 51-58
Author(s):  
O. A. Kaplunova

Objective: to study the structural transformations of the architectonics of intra-organ renal arterial vessels in the age aspect.Materials and methods: 150 kidneys of people of diff erent age who died from the reasons which are not connected with diseases of cardiovascular and urinary systems are investigated. The studies were carried out using a set of methods: angiographic, macromicroscopic and morphometry.Results: with increasing age, a decrease in the number of vascular glomeruli in the kidney, the proportion of glomerular mass in the cortical substance of the kidney was found. In old age and in centenarians, a rare capillary network in the cortical substance of the kidney, tortuosity, narrowing and expansion of direct arterioles and capillaries in the cerebral substance was revealed. In old age and in centenarians, compared with adolescence, the relative content of arterial vessels in the cortical substance decreases by 6 times, in the juxtamedullary zone — by 4 and in the cortical substance — by 2 times.Conclusions: the large diameters of the juxtamedullary glomeruli and a large index of the relative content of arterial vessels in the juxtamedullary zone create prerequisites for possible juxtamedullary shunting with urgent adaptation in the norm. The decrease in these indicators in old age, the elderly and centenarians, obviously, explains the age-related decline in the adaptive capacity of the arterial bed of the kidneys. With increasing age, the range of adaptive capabilities of the renal vascular bed of aging people decreases compared to those of mature age. 


2018 ◽  
pp. 1-3
Author(s):  
B.C. Clark

Sarcopenia was originally conceptualized as the age-related loss of skeletal muscle mass. Over the ensuing decades, the conceptual definition of sarcopenia has changed to represent a condition in older adults that is characterized by declining muscle mass and function, with “function” most commonly conceived as muscle weakness and/or impaired physical performance (e.g., slow gait speed). Findings over the past 15-years, however, have demonstrated that changes in grip and leg extensor strength are not primarily due to muscle atrophy per se, and that to a large extent, are reflective of declines in the integrity of the nervous system. This article briefly summarizes findings relating to the complex neuromuscular mechanisms that contribute to reductions in muscle function associated with advancing age, and the implications of these findings on the development of effective therapies.


Biomolecules ◽  
2019 ◽  
Vol 9 (11) ◽  
pp. 642 ◽  
Author(s):  
Dolan ◽  
Artioli ◽  
Pereira ◽  
Gualano

Sarcopenia is characterized by a loss of muscle mass, quality, and function, and negatively impacts health, functionality, and quality of life for numerous populations, particularly older adults. Creatine is an endogenously produced metabolite, which has the theoretical potential to counteract many of the morphological and metabolic parameters underpinning sarcopenia. This can occur through a range of direct and indirect mechanisms, including temporal and spatial functions that accelerate ATP regeneration during times of high energy demand, direct anabolic and anti-catabolic functions, and enhanced muscle regenerating capacity through positively impacting muscle stem cell availability. Studies conducted in older adults show little benefit of creatine supplementation alone on muscle function or mass. In contrast, creatine supplementation as an adjunct to exercise training seems to augment the muscle adaptive response to the training stimulus, potentially through increasing capacity for higher intensity exercise, and/or by enhancing post-exercise recovery and adaptation. As such, creatine may be an effective dietary strategy to combat age-related muscle atrophy and sarcopenia when used to complement the benefits of exercise training.


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