scholarly journals Inhibition of Activin/Myostatin signalling induces skeletal muscle hypertrophy but impairs mouse testicular development

2020 ◽  
Vol 30 (1) ◽  
pp. 62-78
Author(s):  
Danielle Vaughan ◽  
Olli Ritvos ◽  
Robert Mitchell ◽  
Oliver Kretz ◽  
Maciej Lalowski ◽  
...  

Numerous approaches are being developed to promote post-natal muscle growth based on attenuating Myostatin/Activin signalling for clinical uses such as the treatment neuromuscular diseases, cancer cachexia and sarcopenia. However there have been concerns about the effects of inhibiting Activin on tissues other than skeletal muscle. We intraperitoneally injected mice with the Activin ligand trap, sActRIIB, in young, adult and a progeric mouse model. Treatment at any stage in the life of the mouse rapidly increased muscle mass. However at all stages of life the treatment decreased the weights of the testis. Not only were the testis smaller, but they contained fewer sperm compared to untreated mice. We found that the hypertrophic muscle phenotype was lost after the cessation of sActRIIB treatment but abnormal testis phenotype persisted. In summary, attenuation of Myostatin/Activin signalling inhibited testis development. Future use of molecules based on a similar mode of action to promote muscle growth should be carefully profiled for adverse side-effects on the testis. However the effectiveness of sActRIIB as a modulator of Activin function provides a possible therapeutic strategy to alleviate testicular seminoma development.

Physiology ◽  
2019 ◽  
Vol 34 (1) ◽  
pp. 30-42 ◽  
Author(s):  
Vandré Casagrande Figueiredo ◽  
John J. McCarthy

The ribosome is the enzymatic macromolecular machine responsible for protein synthesis. The rates of protein synthesis are primarily dependent on translational efficiency and capacity. Ribosome biogenesis has emerged as an important regulator of skeletal muscle growth and maintenance by altering the translational capacity of the cell. Here, we provide evidence to support a central role for ribosome biogenesis in skeletal muscle growth during postnatal development and in response to resistance exercise training. Furthermore, we discuss the cellular signaling pathways regulating ribosome biogenesis, discuss how myonuclear accretion affects translational capacity, and explore future areas of investigation within the field.


2016 ◽  
Vol 310 (6) ◽  
pp. E461-E472 ◽  
Author(s):  
Isabelle Riedl ◽  
Megan E. Osler ◽  
Marie Björnholm ◽  
Brendan Egan ◽  
Gustavo A. Nader ◽  
...  

Mechanisms regulating skeletal muscle growth involve a balance between the activity of serine/threonine protein kinases, including the mammalian target of rapamycin (mTOR) and 5′-AMP-activated protein kinase (AMPK). The contribution of different AMPK subunits to the regulation of cell growth size remains inadequately characterized. Using AMPKγ3 mutant-overexpressing transgenic Tg-Prkag3 225Q and AMPKγ3-knockout ( Prkag3−/−) mice, we investigated the requirement for the AMPKγ3 isoform in functional overload-induced muscle hypertrophy. Although the genetic disruption of the γ3 isoform did not impair muscle growth, control sham-operated AMPKγ3-transgenic mice displayed heavier plantaris muscles in response to overload hypertrophy and underwent smaller mass gain and lower Igf1 expression compared with wild-type littermates. The mTOR signaling pathway was upregulated with functional overload but unchanged between genetically modified animals and wild-type littermates. Differences in AMPK-related signaling pathways between transgenic, knockout, and wild-type mice did not impact muscle hypertrophy. Glycogen content was increased following overload in wild-type mice. In conclusion, our functional, transcriptional, and signaling data provide evidence against the involvement of the AMPKγ3 isoform in the regulation of skeletal muscle hypertrophy. Thus, the AMPKγ3 isoform is dispensable for functional overload-induced muscle growth. Mechanical loading can override signaling pathways that act as negative effectors of mTOR signaling and consequently promote skeletal muscle hypertrophy.


2009 ◽  
Vol 296 (4) ◽  
pp. R1132-R1139 ◽  
Author(s):  
Margaret L Novak ◽  
William Billich ◽  
Sierra M. Smith ◽  
Kunal B. Sukhija ◽  
Thomas J. McLoughlin ◽  
...  

Anti-inflammatory strategies are often used to reduce muscle pain and soreness that can result from high-intensity muscular activity. However, studies indicate that components of the acute inflammatory response may be required for muscle repair and growth. The hypothesis of this study was that cyclooxygenase (COX)-2 activity is required for compensatory hypertrophy of skeletal muscle. We used the synergist ablation model of skeletal muscle hypertrophy, along with the specific COX-2 inhibitor NS-398, to investigate the role of COX-2 in overload-induced muscle growth in mice. COX-2 was expressed in plantaris muscles during compensatory hypertrophy and was localized mainly in or near muscle cell nuclei. Treatment with NS-398 blunted the increases in mass and protein content in overloaded muscles compared with vehicle-treated controls. Additionally, the COX-2 inhibitor decreased activity of the urokinase type plasminogen activator, macrophage accumulation, and cell proliferation, all of which are required for hypertrophy after synergist ablation. Expression of insulin-like growth factor-1 and phosphorylation of Akt, mammalian target of rapamycin, and p70S6K were increased following synergist ablation, but were not affected by NS-398. Additionally, expression of atrogin-1 was reduced during hypertrophy, but was also not affected by NS-398. These results demonstrate that COX-2 activity is required for skeletal muscle hypertrophy, possibly through facilitation of extracellular protease activity, macrophage accumulation, and cell proliferation.


2019 ◽  
Vol 317 (5) ◽  
pp. R709-R718 ◽  
Author(s):  
Vandré Casagrande Figueiredo

Protein synthesis is deemed the underpinning mechanism enhancing protein balance required for skeletal muscle hypertrophy in response to resistance exercise. The current model of skeletal muscle hypertrophy induced by resistance training states that the acute increase in the rates of protein synthesis after each bout of resistance exercise is the basis for muscle growth. Within this paradigm, each resistance exercise session would add a specific amount of muscle mass; therefore, muscle hypertrophy could be defined as the result of intermittent and short-lived increases in muscle protein synthesis rates following each resistance exercise session. Although a substantial amount of data has accumulated in the last decades regarding the acute changes in protein synthesis (or translational efficiency) following resistance exercise, considerable gaps on the mechanism of muscle growth still exist. Ribosome biogenesis and translational capacity have emerged as important mediators of skeletal muscle hypertrophy. Recent advances in the field have demonstrated that skeletal muscle hypertrophy is associated with markers of translational capacity and long-term changes in protein synthesis under resting conditions. This review will discuss the caveats of the current model of skeletal muscle hypertrophy induced by resistance training while proposing a working model that takes into consideration the novel data generated by independent laboratories utilizing different methodologies. It is argued, herein, that the role of protein synthesis in the current model of muscle hypertrophy warrants revisiting.


2020 ◽  
pp. 1-15
Author(s):  
Stefano Schiaffino ◽  
Carlo Reggiani ◽  
Takayuki Akimoto ◽  
Bert Blaauw

Skeletal muscle hypertrophy can be induced by hormones and growth factors acting directly as positive regulators of muscle growth or indirectly by neutralizing negative regulators, and by mechanical signals mediating the effect of resistance exercise. Muscle growth during hypertrophy is controlled at the translational level, through the stimulation of protein synthesis, and at the transcriptional level, through the activation of ribosomal RNAs and muscle-specific genes. mTORC1 has a central role in the regulation of both protein synthesis and ribosomal biogenesis. Several transcription factors and co-activators, including MEF2, SRF, PGC-1α4, and YAP promote the growth of the myofibers. Satellite cell proliferation and fusion is involved in some but not all muscle hypertrophy models.


2012 ◽  
Vol 302 (5) ◽  
pp. R643-R654 ◽  
Author(s):  
Thomas Chaillou ◽  
Nathalie Koulmann ◽  
Nadine Simler ◽  
Adélie Meunier ◽  
Bernard Serrurier ◽  
...  

Hypoxia induces a loss of skeletal muscle mass, but the signaling pathways and molecular mechanisms involved remain poorly understood. We hypothesized that hypoxia could impair skeletal muscle hypertrophy induced by functional overload (Ov). To test this hypothesis, plantaris muscles were overloaded during 5, 12, and 56 days in female rats exposed to hypobaric hypoxia (5,500 m), and then, we examined the responses of specific signaling pathways involved in protein synthesis (Akt/mTOR) and breakdown (atrogenes). Hypoxia minimized the Ov-induced hypertrophy at days 5 and 12 but did not affect the hypertrophic response measured at day 56. Hypoxia early reduced the phosphorylation levels of mTOR and its downstream targets P70S6K and rpS6, but it did not affect the phosphorylation levels of Akt and 4E-BP1, in Ov muscles. The role played by specific inhibitors of mTOR, such as AMPK and hypoxia-induced factors (i.e., REDD1 and BNIP-3) was studied. REDD1 protein levels were reduced by overload and were not affected by hypoxia in Ov muscles, whereas AMPK was not activated by hypoxia. Although hypoxia significantly increased BNIP-3 mRNA levels at day 5, protein levels remained unaffected. The mRNA levels of the two atrogenes MURF1 and MAFbx were early increased by hypoxia in Ov muscles. In conclusion, hypoxia induced a transient alteration of muscle growth in this hypertrophic model, at least partly due to a specific impairment of the mTOR/P70S6K pathway, independently of Akt, by an undefined mechanism, and increased transcript levels for MURF1 and MAFbx that could contribute to stimulate the proteasomal proteolysis.


1999 ◽  
Vol 339 (2) ◽  
pp. 443-451 ◽  
Author(s):  
Christopher SEMSARIAN ◽  
Pramod SUTRAVE ◽  
David R. RICHMOND ◽  
Robert M. GRAHAM

Insulin-like growth factor-I (IGF-I) is an important autocrine/paracrine mediator of skeletal-muscle growth and development. To develop a definitive cultured cell model of skeletal-muscle hypertrophy, C2C12 cells were stably transfected with IGF-I and clonal lines developed and evaluated. Quantitative morphometric analysis showed that IGF-I-transfected myotubes had a larger area (2381±60 µm2 versus 1429±39 µm2; P< 0.0001) and a greater maximum width (21.4±0.6 µm versus 13.9±0.3 µm; P< 0.0001) than control C2C12 myotubes, independent of the number of cell nuclei per myotube. IGF-I-transfected myotubes had higher levels of protein synthesis but no difference in DNA synthesis when compared with control myotubes, indicating the development of hypertrophy rather than hyperplasia. Both lactate dehydrogenase and alanine aminotransferase activities were increased (3- and 5-fold respectively), and total lactate levels were higher (2.3-fold) in IGF-I-transfected compared with control myotubes, indicating an increase in anaerobic glycolysis in the hypertrophied myotubes. However, expression of genes involved in skeletal-muscle growth or hypertrophy in vivo, e.g. myocyte nuclear factor and myostatin, was not altered in the IGF-I myotubes. Finally, myotube hypertrophy could also be induced by treatment of C2C12 cells with recombinant IGF-I or by growing C2C12 cells in conditioned media from IGF-I-transfected cells. This quantitative model should be uniquely useful for elucidating the molecular mechanisms of skeletal-muscle hypertrophy.


2008 ◽  
Vol 88 (2) ◽  
pp. 729-767 ◽  
Author(s):  
Gordon S. Lynch ◽  
James G. Ryall

The importance of β-adrenergic signaling in the heart has been well documented, but it is only more recently that we have begun to understand the importance of this signaling pathway in skeletal muscle. There is considerable evidence regarding the stimulation of the β-adrenergic system with β-adrenoceptor agonists (β-agonists). Although traditionally used for treating bronchospasm, it became apparent that some β-agonists could increase skeletal muscle mass and decrease body fat. These so-called “repartitioning effects” proved desirable for the livestock industry trying to improve feed efficiency and meat quality. Studying β-agonist effects on skeletal muscle has identified potential therapeutic applications for muscle wasting conditions such as sarcopenia, cancer cachexia, denervation, and neuromuscular diseases, aiming to attenuate (or potentially reverse) the muscle wasting and associated muscle weakness, and to enhance muscle growth and repair after injury. Some undesirable cardiovascular side effects of β-agonists have so far limited their therapeutic potential. This review describes the physiological significance of β-adrenergic signaling in skeletal muscle and examines the effects of β-agonists on skeletal muscle structure and function. In addition, we examine the proposed beneficial effects of β-agonist administration on skeletal muscle along with some of the less desirable cardiovascular effects. Understanding β-adrenergic signaling in skeletal muscle is important for identifying new therapeutic targets and identifying novel approaches to attenuate the muscle wasting concomitant with many diseases.


2015 ◽  
Vol 309 (6) ◽  
pp. E557-E567 ◽  
Author(s):  
Caroline Barbé ◽  
Stéphanie Kalista ◽  
Audrey Loumaye ◽  
Olli Ritvos ◽  
Pascale Lause ◽  
...  

Follistatin, a physiological inhibitor of myostatin, induces a dramatic increase in skeletal muscle mass, requiring the type 1 IGF-I receptor/Akt/mTOR pathway. The aim of the present study was to investigate the role of IGF-I and insulin, two ligands of the IGF-I receptor, in the follistatin hypertrophic action on skeletal muscle. In a first step, we showed that follistatin increases muscle mass while being associated with a downregulation of muscle IGF-I expression. In addition, follistatin retained its full hypertrophic effect toward muscle in hypophysectomized animals despite very low concentrations of circulating and muscle IGF-I. Furthermore, follistatin did not increase muscle sensitivity to IGF-I in stimulating phosphorylation of Akt but, surprisingly, decreased it once hypertrophy was present. Taken together, these observations indicate that increased muscle IGF-I production or sensitivity does not contribute to the muscle hypertrophy caused by follistatin. Unlike low IGF-I, low insulin, as obtained by streptozotocin injection, attenuated the hypertrophic action of follistatin on skeletal muscle. Moreover, the full anabolic response to follistatin was restored in this condition by insulin but also by IGF-I infusion. Therefore, follistatin-induced muscle hypertrophy requires the activation of the insulin/IGF-I pathway by either insulin or IGF-I. When insulin or IGF-I alone is missing, follistatin retains its full anabolic effect, but when both are deficient, as in streptozotocin-treated animals, follistatin fails to stimulate muscle growth.


2017 ◽  
Vol 114 (47) ◽  
pp. 12448-12453 ◽  
Author(s):  
Frederic Morvan ◽  
Jean-Michel Rondeau ◽  
Chao Zou ◽  
Giulia Minetti ◽  
Clemens Scheufler ◽  
...  

The TGF-β family ligands myostatin, GDF11, and activins are negative regulators of skeletal muscle mass, which have been reported to primarily signal via the ActRIIB receptor on skeletal muscle and thereby induce muscle wasting described as cachexia. Use of a soluble ActRIIB-Fc “trap,” to block myostatin pathway signaling in normal or cachectic mice leads to hypertrophy or prevention of muscle loss, perhaps suggesting that the ActRIIB receptor is primarily responsible for muscle growth regulation. Genetic evidence demonstrates however that both ActRIIB- and ActRIIA-deficient mice display a hypertrophic phenotype. Here, we describe the mode of action of bimagrumab (BYM338), as a human dual-specific anti-ActRIIA/ActRIIB antibody, at the molecular and cellular levels. As shown by X-ray analysis, bimagrumab binds to both ActRIIA and ActRIIB ligand binding domains in a competitive manner at the critical myostatin/activin binding site, hence preventing signal transduction through either ActRII. Myostatin and the activins are capable of binding to both ActRIIA and ActRIIB, with different affinities. However, blockade of either single receptor through the use of specific anti-ActRIIA or anti-ActRIIB antibodies achieves only a partial signaling blockade upon myostatin or activin A stimulation, and this leads to only a small increase in muscle mass. Complete neutralization and maximal anabolic response are achieved only by simultaneous blockade of both receptors. These findings demonstrate the importance of ActRIIA in addition to ActRIIB in mediating myostatin and activin signaling and highlight the need for blocking both receptors to achieve a strong functional benefit.


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