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The transcription factor ATF4 promotes skeletal myofiber atrophy during fasting.

ABSTRACT: Prolonged fasting alters skeletal muscle gene expression in a manner that promotes myofiber atrophy, but the underlying mechanisms are not fully understood. Here, we examined the potential role of activating transcription factor 4 (ATF4), a transcription factor with an evolutionarily ancient role in the cellular response to starvation. In mouse skeletal muscle, fasting increases the level of ATF4 mRNA. To determine whether increased ATF4 expression was required for myofiber atrophy, we reduced ATF4 expression with an inhibitory RNA targeting ATF4 and found that it reduced myofiber atrophy during fasting. Likewise, reducing the fasting level of ATF4 mRNA with a phosphorylation-resistant form of eukaryotic initiation factor 2alpha decreased myofiber atrophy. To determine whether ATF4 was sufficient to reduce myofiber size, we overexpressed ATF4 and found that it reduced myofiber size in the absence of fasting. In contrast, a transcriptionally inactive ATF4 construct did not reduce myofiber size, suggesting a requirement for ATF4-mediated transcriptional regulation. To begin to determine the mechanism of ATF4-mediated myofiber atrophy, we compared the effects of fasting and ATF4 overexpression on global skeletal muscle mRNA expression. Interestingly, expression of ATF4 increased a small subset of five fasting-responsive mRNAs, including four of the 15 mRNAs most highly induced by fasting. These five mRNAs encode proteins previously implicated in growth suppression (p21(Cip1/Waf1), GADD45alpha, and PW1/Peg3) or titin-based stress signaling [muscle LIM protein (MLP) and cardiac ankyrin repeat protein (CARP)]. Taken together, these data identify ATF4 as a novel mediator of skeletal myofiber atrophy during starvation.

SUBMITTER: Ebert SM

PROVIDER: S-EPMC2852358 | biostudies-literature | 2010 Apr

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature

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The transcription factor ATF4 promotes skeletal myofiber atrophy during fasting.

Ebert Scott M SM Monteys Alex Mas AM Fox Daniel K DK Bongers Kale S KS Shields Bridget E BE Malmberg Sharon E SE Davidson Beverly L BL Suneja Manish M Adams Christopher M CM

Molecular endocrinology (Baltimore, Md.) 20100302 4

Prolonged fasting alters skeletal muscle gene expression in a manner that promotes myofiber atrophy, but the underlying mechanisms are not fully understood. Here, we examined the potential role of activating transcription factor 4 (ATF4), a transcription factor with an evolutionarily ancient role in the cellular response to starvation. In mouse skeletal muscle, fasting increases the level of ATF4 mRNA. To determine whether increased ATF4 expression was required for myofiber atrophy, we reduced A ...[more]

PMID: 20197309

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Project description:Age-related skeletal muscle atrophy is a debilitating condition that has significant negative impacts on health and quality of life. Despite broad clinical impact, the molecular basis of age-related skeletal muscle atrophy is not well understood. Here, we determined protein turnover rates in skeletal muscle of 22-month-old control mice and 22-month-old muscle-specific ATF4 knockout (ATF4 mKO) mice, which are partially resistant to age-related muscle atrophy. All samples were analyzed by DDA TripleTOF 6600 mass spectrometer for downstream analysis of protein turnover. Quantitative MS1 peak areas were extracted from DDA raw files in the Skyline-Daily software platform. ProteinPilot search results were imported into the Skyline software to build a spectral library, followed by import of raw MS files for extraction of chromatographic peak areas. A custom skyline report containing all peptide and protein characteristics, annotations, and quantitative information including isotopologue peak areas was exported and used for downstream analysis and calculation of protein turnover rates in R using in-house R scripts (TurnoveR tool). Precursor-pool corrected protein turnover rates were calculated using the same approach employed in previous studies using the Topograph software platform. For calculation of protein abundance changes, DIA acquisitions from six samples (3 ATF4 KO and 3 WT samples) were quantitatively processed using Spectronaut v14. Analysis of protein turnover indicates that most proteins with altered turnover rates in ATF4 mKO muscles have decreased half-lives and are components of the mitochondrion. These proteins include subunits of the ATP Synthase (Atp5b, Atp5o), Ubiquinol-Cytochrome C Reductase (Uqcrc1, Uqcrh) and Cytochrome C Oxidase (Cox6b1) complexes, among others. These findings implicate increased rates of mitochondrial protein turnover as a mechanism that underlies, at least in part, the protection from age-induced muscle atrophy in ATF4 mKO mice.

Project description:BackgroundHypoxemia in humans may occur during high altitude mountaineering and in patients suffering from ventilatory insufficiencies such as cardiovascular- or respiratory disease including Chronic Obstructive Pulmonary Disease (COPD). In these conditions, hypoxemia has been correlated to reduced appetite and decreased food intake. Since hypoxemia and reduced food intake intersect in various physiological and pathological conditions and both induce loss of muscle mass, we investigated whether hypoxia aggravates fasting-induced skeletal muscle atrophy and evaluated underlying protein turnover signaling.MethodsMice were kept under hypoxic (8% oxygen) or normoxic conditions (21% oxygen), or were pair-fed to the hypoxia group for 12 days. Following an additional 24 hours of fasting, muscle weight and protein turnover signaling were assessed in the gastrocnemius muscle by RT-qPCR and Western blotting.ResultsLoss of gastrocnemius muscle mass in response to fasting in the hypoxic group was increased compared to the normoxic group, but not to the pair-fed normoxic control group. Conversely, the fasting-induced increase in poly-ubiquitin conjugation, and expression of the ubiquitin 26S-proteasome E3 ligases, autophagy-lysosomal degradation-related mRNA transcripts and proteins, and markers of the integrated stress response (ISR), were attenuated in the hypoxia group compared to the pair-fed group. Mammalian target of rapamycin complex 1 (mTORC1) downstream signaling was reduced by fasting under normoxic conditions, but sustained under hypoxic conditions. Activation of AMP-activated protein kinase (AMPK) / tuberous sclerosis complex 2 (TSC2) signaling by fasting was absent, in line with retained mTORC1 activity under hypoxic conditions. Similarly, hypoxia suppressed AMPK-mediated glucocorticoid receptor (GR) signaling following fasting, which corresponded with blunted proteolytic signaling responses.ConclusionsHypoxia aggravates fasting-induced muscle wasting, and suppresses AMPK and ISR activation. Altered AMPK-mediated regulation of mTORC1 and GR may underlie aberrant protein turnover signaling and affect muscle atrophy responses in hypoxic skeletal muscle.

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The transcription factor ATF4 promotes skeletal myofiber atrophy during fasting.

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The transcription factor ATF4 promotes skeletal myofiber atrophy during fasting.

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