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Huntington disease skeletal muscle is hyperexcitable owing to chloride and potassium channel dysfunction.

ABSTRACT: Huntington disease is a progressive and fatal genetic disorder with debilitating motor and cognitive defects. Chorea, rigidity, dystonia, and muscle weakness are characteristic motor defects of the disease that are commonly attributed to central neurodegeneration. However, no previous study has examined the membrane properties that control contraction in Huntington disease muscle. We show primary defects in ex vivo adult skeletal muscle from the R6/2 transgenic mouse model of Huntington disease. Action potentials in diseased fibers are more easily triggered and prolonged than in fibers from WT littermates. Furthermore, some action potentials in the diseased fibers self-trigger. These defects occur because of decreases in the resting chloride and potassium conductances. Consistent with this, the expression of the muscle chloride channel, ClC-1, in Huntington disease muscle was compromised by improper splicing and a corresponding reduction in total Clcn1 (gene for ClC-1) mRNA. Additionally, the total Kcnj2 (gene for the Kir2.1 potassium channel) mRNA was reduced in disease muscle. The resulting muscle hyperexcitability causes involuntary and prolonged contractions that may contribute to the chorea, rigidity, and dystonia that characterize Huntington disease.

SUBMITTER: Waters CW

PROVIDER: S-EPMC3670332 | biostudies-literature | 2013 May

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature

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Huntington disease skeletal muscle is hyperexcitable owing to chloride and potassium channel dysfunction.

Waters Christopher W CW Varuzhanyan Grigor G Talmadge Robert J RJ Voss Andrew A AA

Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the United States of America 20130513 22

Huntington disease is a progressive and fatal genetic disorder with debilitating motor and cognitive defects. Chorea, rigidity, dystonia, and muscle weakness are characteristic motor defects of the disease that are commonly attributed to central neurodegeneration. However, no previous study has examined the membrane properties that control contraction in Huntington disease muscle. We show primary defects in ex vivo adult skeletal muscle from the R6/2 transgenic mouse model of Huntington disease. ...[more]

PMID: 23671115

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Project description:BACKGROUND:Skeletal muscle atrophy is the net loss of muscle mass that results from an imbalance in protein synthesis and protein degradation. It occurs in response to several stimuli including disease, injury, starvation, and normal aging. Currently, there is no truly effective pharmacological therapy for atrophy; therefore, exploration of the mechanisms contributing to atrophy is essential because it will eventually lead to discovery of an effective therapeutic target. The ether-a-go-go related gene (ERG1A) K+ channel has been shown to contribute to atrophy by upregulating ubiquitin proteasome proteolysis in cachectic and unweighted mice and has also been implicated in calcium modulation in cancer cells. METHODS:We transduced C2C12 myotubes with either a human ERG1A encoded adenovirus or an appropriate control virus. We used fura-2 calcium indicator to measure intracellular calcium concentration and Calpain-Glo assay kits (ProMega) to measure calpain activity. Quantitative PCR was used to monitor gene expression and immunoblot evaluated protein abundances in cell lysates. Data were analyzed using either a Student's t test or two-way ANOVAs and SAS software as indicated. RESULTS:Expression of human ERG1A in C2C12 myotubes increased basal intracellular calcium concentration 51.7% (p?<?0.0001; n?=?177). Further, it increased the combined activity of the calcium-activated cysteine proteases, calpain 1 and 2, by 31.9% (p?<?0.08; n?=?24); these are known to contribute to degradation of myofilaments. The increased calcium levels are likely a contributor to the increased calpain activity; however, the change in calpain activity may also be attributable to increased calpain protein abundance and/or a decrease in levels of the native calpain inhibitor, calpastatin. To explore the enhanced calpain activity further, we evaluated expression of calpain and calpastatin genes and observed no significant differences. There was no change in calpain 1 protein abundance; however, calpain 2 protein abundance decreased 40.7% (p?<?0.05; n?=?6). These changes do not contribute to an increase in calpain activity; however, we detected a 31.7% decrease (p?<?0.05; n?=?6) in calpastatin which could contribute to enhanced calpain activity. CONCLUSIONS:Human ERG1A expression increases both intracellular calcium concentration and combined calpain 1 and 2 activity. The increased calpain activity is likely a result of the increased calcium levels and decreased calpastatin abundance.

Dataset Information

Huntington disease skeletal muscle is hyperexcitable owing to chloride and potassium channel dysfunction.

Publications

Huntington disease skeletal muscle is hyperexcitable owing to chloride and potassium channel dysfunction.

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