• BMB Reports
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• v.48 no.11
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• pp.595-596
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• 2015

Skeletal muscle exhibits a loss of muscle mass and function with age. Decreased regenerative potential of muscle stem/progenitor cells is a major underlying cause of sarcopenia. We analyzed microRNAs (miRNA) that are differentially expressed in young and old myoblasts, to identify novel intrinsic factors that play a degenerative role in aged skeletal muscle. miR-431, one of decreasing miRNAs in old myoblasts, improved the myogenic differentiation when overexpressed in old myoblast, but suppressed their myogenic capability in knockdowned young myoblasts. We found that miR-431 directly binds to 3` untranslated regions (UTR) of Smad4 mRNA, and decreases its expression. Given that SMAD4 is one of the downstream effectors of TGF-β, a well-known degenerative signaling pathway in myogenesis, the decreased miR-431 in old myoblast causes SMAD4 elevation, thus resulting in defective myogenesis. Exogenous expression of miR-431 greatly improved the muscle regeneration in the cardiotoxin-injured hindlimb muscle of old mice by reducing SMAD4 levels. Since the miR-431 seed sequence is conserved in human SMAD4 3'UTR, miR-431 regulates the myogenic capacity of human skeletal myoblasts in the same manner. Our results suggest that age-associated miR-431 is required for the maintenance of the myogenic capability in myoblasts, thus underscoring its potential as a therapeutic target to slow down muscle aging.

• Asian-Australasian Journal of Animal Sciences
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• v.22 no.2
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• pp.275-281
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• 2009

Modification of thyroid hormone levels has a profound effect on skeletal muscle differentiation, predominantly through direct regulation involving thyroid hormone receptors. Nevertheless, little is known about the regulation of myostatin gene expression in skeletal muscle due to altered concentrations of thyroid hormone. Thus, the goal of our study was to find out whether altered thyroid states could change the gene expression of myostatin, the most powerful inhibitor of skeletal muscle development. A hyperthyroid state was induced in rats by daily injections of L-thyroxine 20 mg/100 g body weight for 14 days, while a hypothyroid state was induced in another group of rats by administering methimazole (0.04%) in drinking water for 14 days. After a period of 14 days of L-thyroxine treatment we observed a significant increase of myostatin expression both in mRNA and protein level. However, decreased expression of myostatin mRNA and protein were observed in hypothyroid rats. Furthermore, our studies demonstrated that the upregulation of myostatin gene expression might be responsible for the loss of body weight induced by altered thyroid hormone levels. We concluded that myostatin played a role in a metabolic process in muscle that was regulated by thyroid hormone.

• The Korea Journal of Herbology
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• v.34 no.6
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• pp.99-107
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• 2019

Objective : The present study was conducted to investigate the effects of Chaenomelis Fructus (CF) on the regulation of biogenesis in C2C12 mouse skeletal muscle cells. Methods : C2C12 myoblasts were differentiated into myotubes in 2% horse serum-containing medium for 5 days, and then treated with CF extract at different concentrations for 48 hr. The expression of muscle differentiation markers, myogenin and myosin heavy chain (MHC) and mitochondrial biogenesis-regulating factors, peroxisome proliferator-activated receptor gamma coactivator 1alpha (PGC1α), sirtuin1 (Sirt1), nuclear respiratory factor1 (NRF1) and transcription factor A, mitochondrial (TFAM), and the phosphorylation of AMP-activated protein kinase (AMPK) and acetyl-CoA carboxylase (ACC) were determined in C2C12 myotubes by reverse transcriptase (RT)-polymerase chain reaction (RT-PCR) and western blot, respectively. The cellular glucose levels and total ATP contents were measured by cellular glucose uptake and ATP assays, respectively. Results : Treatment with CF extract (0.01, 0.02, and 0.05 mg/㎖) significantly increased the expression of MHC protein in C2C12 myotubes compared with non-treated cells. CF extract significantly increased the expression of PGC1α and TFAM in the myotubes. Also, CF extract significantly increased glucose uptake levels and ATP contents in the myotubes. Conclusion : CF extract can stimulate C2C12 myoblasts differentiation into myotubes and increase energy production through upregulation of the expression of mitochondrial biogenetic factors in C2C12 mouse skeletal muscle cell. This suggests that CF can help to improve skeletal muscle function with stimulation of the energy metabolism.

• Asian-Australasian Journal of Animal Sciences
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• v.31 no.9
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• pp.1507-1515
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• 2018

Objective: In the poultry industry, the most important economic traits are meat quality and carcass yield. Thus, many studies were conducted to investigate the regulatory pathways during muscle differentiation. To gain insight of muscle differentiation mechanism during growth period, we identified and validated calcium-related genes which were highly expressed during muscle differentiation through mRNA sequencing analysis. Methods: We conducted next-generation-sequencing (NGS) analysis of mRNA from undifferentiated QM7 cells and differentiated QM7 cells (day 1 to day 3 of differentiation periods). Subsequently, we obtained calcium related genes related to muscle differentiation process and examined the expression patterns by quantitative reverse-transcription polymerase chain reaction (qRT-PCR). Results: Through RNA sequencing analysis, we found that the transcription levels of six genes (troponin C1, slow skeletal and cardiac type [TNNC1], myosin light chain 1 [MYL1], MYL3, phospholamban [PLN], caveolin 3 [CAV3], and calsequestrin 2 [CASQ2]) particularly related to calcium regulation were gradually increased according to days of myotube differentiation. Subsequently, we validated the expression patterns of calcium-related genes in quail myoblasts. These results indicated that TNNC1, MYL1, MYL3, PLN, CAV3, CASQ2 responded to differentiation and growth performance in quail muscle. Conclusion: These results indicated that calcium regulation might play a critical role in muscle differentiation. Thus, these findings suggest that further studies would be warranted to investigate the role of calcium ion in muscle differentiation and could provide a useful biomarker for muscle differentiation and growth.

• Journal of Biomedical Engineering Research
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• v.38 no.6
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• pp.308-312
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• 2017

Skeletal muscle function plays a very important role in quality of life. However, skeletal muscle causes functional decline under aging or some diseases. Exercise and muscle training are good solutions to delay sarcopenia, but there are limitations to those who are uncomfortable in exercise. For this reason, alternative interventions for muscle sarcopenia are required, and many studies proved the increase of skeletal muscle mass by electrical stimulation. In conventional studies, however, mouse skeletal muscle cells have been mostly used in experiments to identify electrical stimulation conditions while human derived cells have not been frequently utilized in these studies. Stimulation used for rehabilitation has been uniformly treated without the consideration of aging. In addition, many studies have been used with conventional petri dish usually requiring many numbers of cells, which is not appropriate for rare. Moreover, they are not usually condition uniformity of electrical field. In this study, we have developed an electrical stimulation device which consumes a small amount of cells and can form a uniform electrical field. With the system, we analyzed the skeletal muscle differentiation and Myotube thickness depending on the electrical stimulation condition.

• Proceedings of the Korea Society of Poultry Science Conference
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• 2000.11a
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• pp.78-80
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• 2000

A new murine TGF-$\beta$ family member, myostatin(growth/differentiation factor-8) is expressed specifically in developing and adult skeletal muscle and may be a negative regulator of skeletal muscle development. This study aims at characterization and identification of genomic organization of chicken myostatin gene. In thi study, we identified the genomic organization and sequence of chicken myostatin gene. Results of RT-PCR and Northern blots from various tissues showed different mRNA expression levels in developmental stages of chick embryos and demonstrated strong expression of myostatin mRNA in skeletal muscle. These facts suggest that chicken myostatin gene would play an important role not only in skeletal muscle cell but also in other tissues.

• Osteoporosis and Sarcopenia
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• v.2 no.3
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• pp.140-155
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• 2016

Sex steroids influence the maintenance and growth of muscles. Decline in androgens, estrogens and progesterone by aging leads to the loss of muscular function and mass, sarcopenia. These steroid hormones can interact with different signaling pathways through their receptors. To date, sex steroid hormone receptors and their exact roles are not completely defined in skeletal and smooth muscles. Although numerous studies focused on the effects of sex steroid hormones on different types of cells, still many unexplained molecular mechanisms in both skeletal and smooth muscle cells remain to be investigated. In this paper, many different molecular mechanisms that are activated or inhibited by sex steroids and those that influence the growth, proliferation, and differentiation of skeletal and smooth muscle cells are reviewed. Also, the similarities of cellular and molecular pathways of androgens, estrogens and progesterone in both skeletal and smooth muscle cells are highlighted. The reviewed signaling pathways and participating molecules can be targeted in the future development of novel therapeutics.

• Asian-Australasian Journal of Animal Sciences
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• v.32 no.6
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• pp.757-766
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• 2019

Objective: MicroRNAs are a class of endogenous small regulatory RNAs that regulate cell proliferation, differentiation and apoptosis. Recent studies on miRNAs are mainly focused on mice, human and pig. However, the studies on miRNAs in skeletal muscle of sheep are not comprehensive. Methods: RNA-seq technology was used to perform genomic analysis of miRNAs in prenatal and postnatal skeletal muscle of sheep. Targeted genes were predicted using miRanda software and miRNA-mRNA interactions were verified by quantitative real-time polymerase chain reaction. To further investigate the function of miRNAs, candidate targeted genes were enriched for analysis using gene ontology (GO) and Kyoto encyclopedia of genes and genomes (KEGG) enrichment. Results: The results showed total of 1,086 known miRNAs and 40 new candidate miRNAs were detected in prenatal and postnatal skeletal muscle of sheep. In addition, 345 miRNAs (151 up-regulated, 94 down-regulated) were differentially expressed. Moreover, miRanda software was performed to predict targeted genes of miRNAs, resulting in a total of 2,833 predicted targets, especially miR-381 which targeted multiple muscle-related mRNAs. Furthermore, GO and KEGG pathway analysis confirmed that targeted genes of miRNAs were involved in development of skeletal muscles. Conclusion: This study supplements the miRNA database of sheep, which provides valuable information for further study of the biological function of miRNAs in sheep skeletal muscle.

• Biomedical Science Letters
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• v.29 no.1
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• pp.26-33
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• 2023

Ziziphus jujuba Mill. (ZJM), a traditional folk medicine and functional food in South Korea and China, has been reported to having pharmacological activities against anti-cancer, anti-oxidative, and anti-obesity. However, the effect of ZJM related to myoblast differentiation has not been known. In this study, we investigated the effects and mechanism of ZJM on myogenic differentiation of C2C12 cells. ZJM promotes myogenic differentiation and elevates the formation of multinucleated myotube compared to the control group. ZJM significantly increased the mRNA and protein expression of MyHC1, myogenin and MyoD in dose- and time-dependent manner. Interestingly, ZJM significantly inhibited the mRNA and protein expression of protein degradation markers, atrogin-1 and MuRF-1, in dose- and time-dependent manner. Taken together, our data suggest that ZJM is a potential functional candidate for muscle growth and strength by promoting myogenic differentiation.

• Journal of Biomedical Engineering Research
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• v.31 no.1
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• pp.81-86
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• 2010

Laser irradiation is known to affect various tissues such as skin, bone, nerve, and skeletal muscle. Laser irradiation promotes ATP synthesis, facilitates wound healing, and stimulates cell proliferation and angiogenesis. In skeletal muscle, laser irradiation is related to the proliferation of skeletal muscle satellite cells. Normal skeletal muscle contains remodeling capacity from myogenic cells that are derived from mononuclear satellite cells. Their processes are activated by the expression of genes related with myogenesis such as muscle-specific transcription factors (MyoD and Myf5) and VEGF (vascular endothelial growth factor). In this study, we hypothesized that laser irradiation would enhance and regulate muscle cell proliferation and regeneration through modulation of the gene expressions related with the differentiation of skeletal muscle satellite cells. $C_2C_{12}$ myoblastic cells were exposed to continuous/non-continuous laser irradiation (660nm/808nm) for 10 minutes daily for either 1 day or 5 days. After laser irradiation, cell proliferation and gene expression (MyoD, Myf5, VEGF) were quantified. Continuous 660nm laser irradiation significantly increased cell proliferation and gene expression compared to control, continuous 808nm laser irradiation, and non-continuous 660nm laser irradiation groups. These results indicate that continuous 660nm laser irradiation can be applied to the treatment and regeneration of skeletal muscle tissue.