The influence of iron availability on the structural changes of skeletal muscle cells and cardiac muscle cells
In the presented study, the influence iron availability on the cell morphology and structure was examined in skeletal myocytes cultured under normoxic and hypoxic conditions. The study showed that iron deficiency in vitro (especially in combination with hypoxia) has a detrimental effect on skeletal myocytes. Cellular disfunction was manifested by atrophic changes in cell morphology, structural remodeling of cells and increased expression of muscle atrophy markers. Interestingly, increased iron availability appeared to have some protective properties in the context of aforementioned changes. Moreover, based on clinical data and recent transgenic models, structural and functional abnormalities in iron-deficient cardiac muscle were described and the potential pathomechanisms behind them have been discussed.