Rhythmic Electrical Activity of Skeletal Muscle in the Salamander and Its Modification by Convulsant and Anticonvulsant Drugs

1958 ◽  
Vol 31 (4) ◽  
pp. 289-294
Author(s):  
J. J. Peters ◽  
A. R. Vonderahe ◽  
R. L. Baehner ◽  
T. H. Powers
1994 ◽  
Vol 14 (12) ◽  
pp. 8051-8057
Author(s):  
X Zhu ◽  
J E Yeadon ◽  
S J Burden

Although most skeletal muscle genes are expressed at similar levels in electrically active, innervated muscle and in electrically inactive, denervated muscle, a small number of genes, including those encoding the acetylcholine receptor, N-CAM, and myogenin, are expressed at significantly higher levels in denervated than in innervated muscle. The mechanisms that mediate electrical activity-dependent gene regulation are not understood, but these mechanisms are likely to be responsible, at least in part, for the changes in muscle structure and function that accompany a decrease in myofiber electrical activity. To understand how muscle activity regulates muscle structure and function, we used a subtractive-hybridization and cloning strategy to identify and isolate genes that are expressed preferentially in innervated or denervated muscle. One of the genes which we found to be regulated by electrical activity is the recently discovered acute myeloid leukemia 1 (AML1) gene. Disruption and translocation of the human AML1 gene are responsible for a form of acute myeloid leukemia. AML1 is a DNA-binding protein, but its normal function is not known and its expression and regulation in skeletal muscle were not previously appreciated. Because of its potential role as a transcriptional mediator of electrical activity, we characterized expression of the AML1 gene in innervated, denervated, and developing skeletal muscle. We show that AML1 is expressed at low levels in innervated skeletal muscle and at 50- to 100-fold-higher levels in denervated muscle. Four AML1 transcripts are expressed in denervated muscle, and the abundance of each transcript increases after denervation. We transfected C2 muscle cells with an expression vector encoding AML1, tagged with an epitope from hemagglutinin, and we show that AML1 is a nuclear protein in muscle. AML1 dimerizes with core-binding factor beta (CBF beta), and we show that CGF beta is expressed at high levels in both innervated and denervated skeletal muscle. PEBP2 alpha, which is structurally related to AML1 and which also dimerizes with CBF beta, is expressed at low levels in skeletal muscle and is up-regulated only weakly by denervation. These results are consistent with the idea that AML1 may have a role in regulating gene expression in skeletal muscle.


2016 ◽  
Vol 48 (9) ◽  
pp. 699-710 ◽  
Author(s):  
Robert Güth ◽  
Alexander Chaidez ◽  
Manoj P. Samanta ◽  
Graciela A. Unguez

Skeletal muscle is distinguished from other tissues on the basis of its shape, biochemistry, and physiological function. Based on mammalian studies, fiber size, fiber types, and gene expression profiles are regulated, in part, by the electrical activity exerted by the nervous system. To address whether similar adaptations to changes in electrical activity in skeletal muscle occur in teleosts, we studied these phenotypic properties of ventral muscle in the electric fish Sternopygus macrurus following 2 and 5 days of electrical inactivation by spinal transection. Our data show that morphological and biochemical properties of skeletal muscle remained largely unchanged after these treatments. Specifically, the distribution of type I and type II muscle fibers and the cross-sectional areas of these fiber types observed in control fish remained unaltered after each spinal transection survival period. This response to electrical inactivation was generally reflected at the transcript level in real-time PCR and RNA-seq data by showing little effect on the transcript levels of genes associated with muscle fiber type differentiation and plasticity, the sarcomere complex, and pathways implicated in the regulation of muscle fiber size. Data from this first study characterizing the acute influence of neural activity on muscle mass and sarcomere gene expression in a teleost are discussed in the context of comparative studies in mammalian model systems and vertebrate species from different lineages.


2004 ◽  
Vol 24 (5) ◽  
pp. 1983-1989 ◽  
Author(s):  
Chris S. Blagden ◽  
Larry Fromm ◽  
Steven J. Burden

ABSTRACT Gene expression in skeletal muscle is regulated by a family of myogenic basic helix-loop-helix (bHLH) proteins. The binding of these bHLH proteins, notably MyoD and myogenin, to E-boxes in their own regulatory regions is blocked by protein kinase C (PKC)-mediated phosphorylation of a single threonine residue in their basic region. Because electrical stimulation increases PKC activity in skeletal muscle, these data have led to an attractive model suggesting that electrical activity suppresses gene expression by stimulating phosphorylation of this critical threonine residue in myogenic bHLH proteins. We show that electrical activity stimulates phosphorylation of myogenin at threonine 87 (T87) in vivo and that calmodulin-dependent kinase II (CaMKII), as well as PKC, catalyzes this reaction in vitro. We find that phosphorylation of myogenin at T87 is dispensable for skeletal muscle development. We show, however, that the decrease in myogenin (myg) expression following innervation is delayed and that the increase in expression following denervation is accelerated in mutant mice lacking phosphorylation of myogenin at T87. These data indicate that two distinct innervation-dependent mechanisms restrain myogenin activity: an inactivation mechanism mediated by phosphorylation of myogenin at T87, and a second, novel regulatory mechanism that regulates myg gene activity independently of T87 phosphorylation.


2008 ◽  
Vol 93 (3) ◽  
pp. 1054-1061 ◽  
Author(s):  
Joseph C. Koster ◽  
Francesco Cadario ◽  
Cinzia Peruzzi ◽  
Carlo Colombo ◽  
Colin G. Nichols ◽  
...  

Abstract Context: Mutations in the Kir6.2 subunit (KCNJ11) of the ATP-sensitive potassium channel (KATP) underlie neonatal diabetes mellitus. In severe cases, Kir6.2 mutations underlie developmental delay, epilepsy, and neonatal diabetes (DEND). All Kir6.2 mutations examined decrease the ATP inhibition of KATP, which is predicted to suppress electrical activity in neurons (peripheral and central), muscle, and pancreas. Inhibitory sulfonylureas (SUs) have been used successfully to treat diabetes in patients with activating Kir6.2 mutations. There are two reports of improved neurological features in SU-treated DEND patients but no report of such improvement in adulthood. Objective: The objective of the study was to determine the molecular basis of intermediate DEND in a 27-yr-old patient with a KCNJ11 mutation (G53D) and the patient’s response to SU therapy. Design: The G53D patient was transferred from insulin to gliclazide and then to glibenclamide over a 160-d period. Motor function was assessed throughout. Electrophysiology assessed the effect of the G53D mutation on KATP activity. Results: The G53D patient demonstrated improved glycemic control and motor coordination with SU treatment, although glibenclamide was more effective than gliclazide. Reconstituted G53D channels exhibit reduced ATP sensitivity, which is predicted to suppress electrical activity in vivo. G53D channels coexpressed with SUR1 (the pancreatic and neuronal isoform) exhibit high-affinity block by gliclazide but are insensitive to block when coexpressed with SUR2A (the skeletal muscle isoform). High-affinity block by glibenclamide is present in G53D channels coexpressed with either SUR1 or SUR2A. Conclusion: The results demonstrate that SUs can resolve motor dysfunction in an adult with intermediate DEND and that this improvement is due to inhibition of the neuronal but not skeletal muscle KATP.


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