scholarly journals Myostatin from the heart: local and systemic actions in cardiac failure and muscle wasting

2011 ◽  
Vol 300 (6) ◽  
pp. H1973-H1982 ◽  
Author(s):  
Astrid Breitbart ◽  
Mannix Auger-Messier ◽  
Jeffery D. Molkentin ◽  
Joerg Heineke

A significant proportion of heart failure patients develop skeletal muscle wasting and cardiac cachexia, which is associated with a very poor prognosis. Recently, myostatin, a cytokine from the transforming growth factor-β (TGF-β) family and a known strong inhibitor of skeletal muscle growth, has been identified as a direct mediator of skeletal muscle atrophy in mice with heart failure. Myostatin is mainly expressed in skeletal muscle, although basal expression is also detectable in heart and adipose tissue. During pathological loading of the heart, the myocardium produces and secretes myostatin into the circulation where it inhibits skeletal muscle growth. Thus, genetic elimination of myostatin from the heart reduces skeletal muscle atrophy in mice with heart failure, whereas transgenic overexpression of myostatin in the heart is capable of inducing muscle wasting. In addition to its endocrine action on skeletal muscle, cardiac myostatin production also modestly inhibits cardiomyocyte growth under certain circumstances, as well as induces cardiac fibrosis and alterations in ventricular function. Interestingly, heart failure patients show elevated myostatin levels in their serum. To therapeutically influence skeletal muscle wasting, direct inhibition of myostatin was shown to positively impact skeletal muscle mass in heart failure, suggesting a promising strategy for the treatment of cardiac cachexia in the future.

Circulation ◽  
2008 ◽  
Vol 118 (suppl_18) ◽  
Author(s):  
Joerg Heineke ◽  
Mannix Auger-Messier ◽  
Michelle Sargent ◽  
Allen York ◽  
Stephen Welle ◽  
...  

Introduction: Skeletal muscle wasting during heart failure constitutes a major therapeutic challenge. The TGFβ superfamily member myostatin is a negative regulator of skeletal muscle growth. For example, elimination of myostatin (MSTN) in adult mice through an inducible Cre/lox recombination strategy has been shown to increase skeletal muscle mass by about 25%. Previous studies identified skeletal muscle and to a lesser extent cardiac and fat tissue as the source of MSTN production in the body. MSTN is produced as a precursor protein, which has been suggested to constitute the main reservoir of the protein in skeletal muscle. In mouse serum, however, MSTN is abundantly present in its mature form, which consists of the C-terminal fragment of the precursor protein. Results: We detected high levels of the mature MSTN protein (MM) in the mouse myocardium by western blotting. Interestingly, MM was significantly upregulated in the myocardium of mice subjected to long-term myocardial pressure overload (TAC, 12 weeks; protein levels: sham 100±22% vs. TAC 218±18%, p<0.01). In contrast, MM was barely detectable in mouse skeletal muscle. Immunhistochemical staining confirmed enhanced cardiomyocyte MSTN production after TAC. To determine the impact of cardiomyocyte MSTN on skeletal muscle growth during heart failure, we crossed cardiomyocyte specific Nkx2.5-Cre mice with mice in which the MSTN exon3 was flanked by loxp sites to eliminate expression of mature MSTN selectively in cardiomyocytes (CKO mice). While CKO mice did not have significant changes in skeletal muscle mass after a sham operation (e.g. quadriceps, normalized to tibia length: sham control 111±3.8 g/cm vs. sham CKO 106±4.3 g/cm), a 16% increase in skeletal muscle mass was observed in CKO mice after longterm TAC (quadriceps: TAC control 100±3.3 g/cm vs. TAC CKO 116±5.3 g/cm, p<0.05). In line with these results, mice with cardiomyocyte specific overexpression of MSTN (MSTN-Tg) showed a reduction in skeletal muscle mass (quadriceps: control 91±2.5 g/cm vs. MSTN-Tg 82±1.5 g/cm, p<0.05). Conclusion: Myocardial MSTN contributes to the development of skeletal muscle wasting in heart failure, most likely through an endocrine mechanism involving its secretion into the circulatory system.


2016 ◽  
Vol 2016 ◽  
pp. 1-13 ◽  
Author(s):  
Valentina Sala ◽  
Stefano Gatti ◽  
Simona Gallo ◽  
Enzo Medico ◽  
Daniela Cantarella ◽  
...  

Among other diseases characterized by the onset of cachexia, congestive heart failure takes a place of relevance, considering the high prevalence of this pathology in most European countries and in the United States, and is undergoing a rapid increase in developing countries. Actually, only few models of cardiac cachexia exist. Difficulties in the recruitment and follow-up of clinical trials implicate that new reproducible and well-characterized animal models are pivotal in developing therapeutic strategies for cachexia. We generated a new model of cardiac cachexia: a transgenic mouse expressing Tpr-Met receptor, the activated form of c-Met receptor of hepatocyte growth factor, specifically in the heart. We showed that the cardiac-specific induction of Tpr-Met raises a cardiac hypertrophic remodelling, which progresses into concentric hypertrophy with concomitant increase in Gdf15 mRNA levels. Hypertrophy progresses to congestive heart failure with preserved ejection fraction, characterized by reduced body weight gain and food intake and skeletal muscle wasting. Prevention trial by suppressing Tpr-Met showed that loss of body weight could be prevented. Skeletal muscle wasting was also associated with altered gene expression profiling. We propose transgenic Tpr-Met mice as a new model of cardiac cachexia, which will constitute a powerful tool to understand such complex pathology and test new drugs/approaches at the preclinical level.


2015 ◽  
Vol 129 (6) ◽  
pp. 461-476 ◽  
Author(s):  
María Gabriela Morales ◽  
Hugo Olguín ◽  
Gabriella Di Capua ◽  
Enrique Brandan ◽  
Felipe Simon ◽  
...  

In this study we determined that angiotensin-(1–7) is a novel peptide that prevents the skeletal muscle atrophy observed in a model of sepsis by inhibiting the catabolic response developed in skeletal muscle and improving its performance.


2019 ◽  
Vol 35 (9) ◽  
pp. 1469-1478 ◽  
Author(s):  
Kate A Robinson ◽  
Luke A Baker ◽  
Matthew P M Graham-Brown ◽  
Emma L Watson

Abstract Skeletal muscle wasting is a common complication of chronic kidney disease (CKD), characterized by the loss of muscle mass, strength and function, which significantly increases the risk of morbidity and mortality in this population. Numerous complications associated with declining renal function and lifestyle activate catabolic pathways and impair muscle regeneration, resulting in substantial protein wasting. Evidence suggests that increasing skeletal muscle mass improves outcomes in CKD, making this a clinically important research focus. Despite extensive research, the pathogenesis of skeletal muscle wasting is not completely understood. It is widely recognized that microRNAs (miRNAs), a family of short non-coding RNAs, are pivotal in the regulation of skeletal muscle homoeostasis, with significant roles in regulating muscle growth, regeneration and metabolism. The abnormal expression of miRNAs in skeletal muscle during disease has been well described in cellular and animal models of muscle atrophy, and in recent years, the involvement of miRNAs in the regulation of muscle atrophy in CKD has been demonstrated. As this exciting field evolves, there is emerging evidence for the involvement of miRNAs in a beneficial crosstalk system between skeletal muscle and other organs that may potentially limit the progression of CKD. In this article, we describe the pathophysiological mechanisms of muscle wasting and explore the contribution of miRNAs to the development of muscle wasting in CKD. We also discuss advances in our understanding of miRNAs in muscle–organ crosstalk and summarize miRNA-based therapeutics currently in clinical trials.


2010 ◽  
Vol 298 (5) ◽  
pp. H1565-H1570 ◽  
Author(s):  
Tadashi Yoshida ◽  
Laura Semprun-Prieto ◽  
Sergiy Sukhanov ◽  
Patrice Delafontaine

Congestive heart failure is associated with activation of the renin-angiotensin system and skeletal muscle wasting. Angiotensin II (ANG II) has been shown to increase muscle proteolysis and decrease circulating and skeletal muscle IGF-1. We have shown previously that skeletal muscle-specific overexpression of IGF-1 prevents proteolysis and apoptosis induced by ANG II. These findings indicated that downregulation of IGF-1 signaling in skeletal muscle played an important role in the wasting effect of ANG II. However, the signaling pathways and mechanisms whereby IGF-1 prevents ANG II-induced skeletal muscle atrophy are unknown. Here we show ANG II-induced transcriptional regulation of two ubiquitin ligases atrogin-1 and muscle ring finger-1 (MuRF-1) that precedes the reduction of skeletal muscle IGF-1 expression, suggesting that activation of atrogin-1 and MuRF-1 is an initial mechanism leading to skeletal muscle atrophy in response to ANG II. IGF-1 overexpression in skeletal muscle prevented ANG II-induced skeletal muscle wasting and the expression of atrogin-1, but not MuRF-1. Dominant-negative Akt and constitutively active Foxo-1 blocked the ability of IGF-1 to prevent ANG II-mediated upregulation of atrogin-1 and skeletal muscle wasting. Our findings demonstrate that the ability of IGF-1 to prevent ANG II-induced skeletal muscle wasting is mediated via an Akt- and Foxo-1-dependent signaling pathway that results in inhibition of atrogin-1 but not MuRF-1 expression. These data suggest strongly that atrogin-1 plays a critical role in mechanisms of ANG II-induced wasting in vivo.


2018 ◽  
Vol 2018 ◽  
pp. 1-10 ◽  
Author(s):  
Xiongwei Yu ◽  
Wenjun Han ◽  
Changli Wang ◽  
Daming Sui ◽  
Jinjun Bian ◽  
...  

Hemin, an inducer of heme oxygenase-1 (HO-1), can enhance the activation of HO-1. HO-1 exhibits a variety of activities, such as anti-inflammatory, antioxidative, and antiapoptotic functions. The objective of this study was to investigate the effects of hemin on sepsis-induced skeletal muscle wasting and to explore the mechanisms by which hemin exerts its effects. Cecal ligation and perforation (CLP) was performed to create a sepsis mouse model. Mice were randomly divided into four groups: control, CLP, CLP plus group, and CLP-hemin-ZnPP (a HO-1 inhibitor). The weight of the solei from the mice was measured, and histopathology was examined. Cytokines were measured by enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA). Real-time quantitative reverse transcription polymerase chain reaction (qRT-PCR) and Western blotting were used to assess the expression levels of HO-1 and atrogin-1. Furthermore, we investigated the antioxidative effects of HO-1 by detecting malondialdehyde (MDA) levels and superoxide dismutase (SOD) activity. CLP led to dramatic skeletal muscle weakness and atrophy, but pretreatment with hemin protected mice against CLP-mediated muscle atrophy. Hemin also induced high HO-1 expression, which resulted in suppressed proinflammatory cytokine and reactive oxygen species (ROS) production. The expression of MuRF1 and atrogin-1, two ubiquitin ligases of the ubiquitin-proteasome system- (UPS-) mediated proteolysis, was also inhibited by increased HO-1 levels. Hemin-mediated increases in HO-1 expression exert protective effects on sepsis-induced skeletal muscle atrophy at least partly by inhibiting the expression of proinflammatory cytokines, UPS-mediated proteolysis, and ROS activation. Therefore, hemin might be a new treatment target against sepsis-induced skeletal muscle atrophy.


2020 ◽  
Vol 318 (2) ◽  
pp. R296-R310 ◽  
Author(s):  
Hélène N. Daou

Cancer cachexia is a complicated disorder of extreme, progressive skeletal muscle wasting. It is directed by metabolic alterations and systemic inflammation dysregulation. Numerous studies have demonstrated that increased systemic inflammation promotes this type of cachexia and have suggested that cytokines are implicated in the skeletal muscle loss. Exercise is firmly established as an anti-inflammatory therapy that can attenuate or even reverse the process of muscle wasting in cancer cachexia. The interleukin IL-6 is generally considered to be a key player in the development of the microenvironment of malignancy; it promotes tumor growth and metastasis by acting as a bridge between chronic inflammation and cancerous tissue and it also induces skeletal muscle atrophy and protein breakdown. Paradoxically, a beneficial role for IL-6 has also been identified recently, and that is its status as a “founding member” of the myokine class of proteins. Skeletal muscle is an important source of circulating IL-6 in people who participate in exercise training. IL-6 acts as an anti-inflammatory myokine by inhibiting TNFα and improving glucose uptake through the stimulation of AMPK signaling. This review discusses the action of IL-6 in skeletal muscle tissue dysfunction and the role of IL-6 as an “exercise factor” that modulates the immune system. This review also sheds light on the main considerations related to the treatment of muscle wasting in cancer cachexia.


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