The quasi-parallel lives of satellite cells and atrophying muscle

Parkin R274W mutation affects muscle and mitochondrial physiology

Recessive mutations in the Parkin gene (PRKN) are the most common cause of young-onset inherited parkinsonism. Parkin is a multifunctional E3 ubiquitin ligase that plays a variety of roles in the cell including the degradation of proteins and the maintenance of mitochondrial homeostasis, integrity, and biogenesis. In 2001, the R275W mutation in the PRKN gene was identified in two unrelated families with a multigenerational history of postural tremor, dystonia and parkinsonism. Drosophila models of Parkin R275W showed selective and progressive degeneration of dopaminergic neuronal clusters, mitochondrial abnormalities, and prominent climbing defects. In the Prkn mouse orthologue, the amino acid R274 corresponds to human R275. Here we described an age-related motor impairment and a muscle phenotype in R274W +/+ mice. In vitro, Parkin R274W mutation correlates with abnormal myoblast differentiation, mitochondrial defects, and alteration in mitochondrial mRNA and protein levels. Our data suggest that the Parkin R274W mutation may impact mitochondrial physiology and eventually myoblast proliferation and differentiation.

Cellular interplay in skeletal muscle regeneration and wasting: insights from animal models

Skeletal muscle wasting, whether related to physiological ageing, muscle disuse or to an underlying chronic disease, is a key determinant to quality of life and mortality. However, cellular basis responsible for increased catabolism in myocytes often remains unclear. Although myocytes represent the vast majority of skeletal muscle cellular population, they are surrounded by numerous cells with various functions. Animal models, mostly rodents, can help to decipher the mechanisms behind this highly dynamic process, by allowing access to every muscle as well as time-course studies. Satellite cells (SCs) play a crucial role in muscle regeneration, within a niche also composed of fibroblasts and vascular and immune cells. Their proliferation and differentiation is altered in several models of muscle wasting such as cancer, chronic kidney disease or chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD). Fibro-adipogenic progenitor cells are also responsible for functional muscle growth and repair and are associated in disease to muscle fibrosis such as in chronic kidney disease. Other cells have recently proven to have direct myogenic potential, such as pericytes. Outside their role in angiogenesis, endothelial cells and pericytes also participate to healthy muscle homoeostasis by promoting SC pool maintenance (so-called myogenesis-angiogenesis coupling). Their role in chronic diseases muscle wasting has been less studied. Immune cells are pivotal for muscle repair after injury: Macrophages undergo a transition from the M1 to the M2 state along with the transition between the inflammatory and resolutive phase of muscle repair. T regulatory lymphocytes promote and regulate this transition and are also able to activate SC proliferation and differentiation. Neural cells such as terminal Schwann cells, motor neurons and kranocytes are notably implicated in age-related sarcopenia. Last, newly identified cells in skeletal muscle, such as telocytes or interstitial tenocytes could play a role in tissular homoeostasis. We also put a special focus on cellular alterations occurring in COPD, a chronic and highly prevalent respiratory disease mainly linked to tobacco smoke exposure, where muscle wasting is strongly associated with increased mortality, and discuss the pros and cons of animal models versus human studies in this context. Finally, we discuss resident cells metabolism and present future promising leads for research, including the use of muscle organoids.

Metabolomic analysis of primary human skeletal muscle cells during myogenic progression

Skeletal muscle constitutes more than 30% of total body mass using substrates such as glycogen, glucose, free fatty acids, and creatinine phosphate to generate energy. Consequently, multinucleated myofibers and resident mononucleated stem cells (satellite cells) generate several metabolites, which enter into circulation affecting the function of other organs, especially during exercise and atrophy. The present study was aimed at building a comprehensive profile of metabolites in primary human skeletal muscle cells during myogenic progression in an untargeted metabolomics approach using a high resolution Orbitrap Fusion Tribrid Mass Spectrometer. Identification of metabolites with multivariate statistical analyses showed a global shift in metabolomic profiles between myoblasts undergoing proliferation and differentiation along with distinctly separable profiles between early and late differentiating cultures. Pathway analyses of 71 unique metabolites revealed that Pantothenate metabolism and Coenzyme A biosynthesis and Arginine Proline metabolism play dominant roles in proliferating myoblasts, while metabolites involved in vitamin B6, Glyoxylate and Dicarboxylate, Nitrogen, Glutathione, and Tryptophan metabolism were upregulated during differentiation. We found that early and late differentiating cultures displayed differences in Phenylalanine, Tyrosine, Glycine, Serine and Threonine metabolism. Our results identify metabolites during maturation of muscle from progenitor myoblasts that have implications in muscle regeneration and pathophysiology.

Inhibition of Stat3 signaling ameliorates atrophy of the soleus muscles in mice lacking the vitamin D receptor

Background

Although skeletal muscle wasting has long been observed as a clinical outcome of impaired vitamin D signaling, precise molecular mechanisms that mediate the loss of muscle mass in the absence of vitamin D signaling are less clear. To determine the molecular consequences of vitamin D signaling, we analyzed the role of signal transducer and activator of transcription 3 (Stat3) signaling, a known contributor to various muscle wasting pathologies, in skeletal muscles.

Methods

We isolated soleus (slow) and tibialis anterior (fast) muscles from mice lacking the vitamin D receptor (VDR^−/−) and used western blot analysis, quantitative RTPCR, and pharmacological intervention to analyze muscle atrophy in VDR^−/− mice.

Results

We found that slow and fast subsets of muscles of the VDR^−/− mice displayed elevated levels of phosphorylated Stat3 accompanied by an increase in Myostatin expression and signaling. Consequently, we observed reduced activity of mammalian target of rapamycin (mTOR) signaling components, ribosomal S6 kinase (p70S6K) and ribosomal S6 protein (rpS6), that regulate protein synthesis and cell size, respectively. Concomitantly, we observed an increase in atrophy regulators and a block in autophagic gene expression. An examination of the upstream regulation of Stat3 levels in VDR^−/− muscles revealed an increase in IL-6 protein expression in the soleus, but not in the tibialis anterior muscles. To investigate the involvement of satellite cells (SCs) in atrophy in VDR^−/− mice, we found that there was no significant deficit in SC numbers in VDR^−/− muscles compared to the wild type. Unlike its expression within VDR^−/− fibers, Myostatin levels in VDR^−/− SCs from bulk muscles were similar to those of wild type. However, VDR^−/− SCs induced to differentiate in culture displayed increased p-Stat3 signaling and Myostatin expression. Finally, VDR^−/− mice injected with a Stat3 inhibitor displayed reduced Myostatin expression and function and restored active p70S6K and rpS6 levels, resulting in an amelioration of loss of muscle mass in the soleus muscles.

Conclusions

The loss of muscle mass in slow muscles in the absence of vitamin D signaling is due to elevated levels of phosphorylated Stat3 that leads to an increase in Myostatin signaling, which in turn decreases protein synthesis and fiber size through the phosphorylation of p70S6K and rpS6, respectively.

Electronic supplementary material

The online version of this article (doi:10.1186/s13395-017-0121-2) contains supplementary material, which is available to authorized users.

High Intensity Training May Reverse the Fiber Type Specific Decline in Myogenic Stem Cells in Multiple Sclerosis Patients

Multiple sclerosis (MS) is associated with loss of skeletal muscle mass and function. The myogenic stem cells (satellite cells—SCs) are instrumental to accretion of myonuclei, but remain to be investigated in MS. The present study aimed to compare the SC and myonuclei content between MS patients (n = 23) and age matched healthy controls (HC, n = 18). Furthermore, the effects of 12 weeks of high intensity training on SC and myonuclei content were explored in MS. Muscle biopsies were obtained from m. Vastus Lateralis at baseline (MS and HC) and following 12 weeks of training (MS only). Frozen biopsies were sectioned followed by immunohistochemical analysis for fiber type specific SCs (Pax7⁺), myonuclei (MN) and central nuclei content and fiber cross-sectional area (fCSA) was quantified using ATPase histochemistry. At baseline the SCs per fiber was lower in type II compared to type I fibers in both MS (119%, p < 0.01) and HC (69%, p < 0.05), whereas the SCs per fCSA was lower in type II fibers compared to type I only in MS (72%, p < 0.05). No differences were observed in MN or central nuclei between MS and HC. Following training the type II fiber SCs per fiber and per fCSA in MS patients increased by 165% (p < 0.05) and 135% (p < 0.05), respectively. Furthermore, the type II fiber MN content tended (p = 0.06) to be increased by 35% following training. In conclusion, the SC content is lower in type II compared to type I fibers in both MS and HC. Furthermore, high intensity training was observed to selectively increase the SC and myonuclei content in type II fibers in MS patients.