Project description:Over-expression of wild type PrP in skeletal muscles is sufficient to cause a primary myopathy with no signs of peripheral neuropathy, possibly due to accumulation of a cytotoxic truncated form of PrP and/or PrP aggregation. In this study we used DNA microarrays to identify 1499 transcripts that are temporally deregulated concomitant with inducible PrPC over-expression in the skeletal muscles of transgenic mice. Examination using microarrays revealed a transcriptional profile with both similarities and differences to previously investigated models of myopathies. Down-regulation of genes coding for the myofibrillar proteins MYH2, MYH6, MYH7, MYL2, MYL3 and up-regulation of lysosomal genes CTSS, CTSD, CTSZ, DPEP2, HEXA, HEXB and LAMP1 coincide with the observed myopathy and lysosome accumulation on over-expression of PrPC. Down-regulation of the MEF2C gene, a key regulatory transcriptional factor muscle development and remodeling of adult muscles in response to physiologic and pathologic signals, may contribute to the centrally placed nuclei in the skeletal muscles. Significantly, up-regulation of genes involved in p53 signaling and the induction of p53 protein, suggest a central role for this molecule in the myopathy. Several p53-regulated genes involved in cell cycle arrest (CDNK1A, GADD45a and GADD45b) and apoptosis (BAK1, PMAIP1, BBC3, and BAX) are induced. We suggest that PrPC over-expression in skeletal muscles, possibly in response to accumulation of a cytotoxic truncated form of PrP, causes a primary myopathy involving the induction of p53-dependent pathways. Wild type (WT), PrP-null (KO), and Tg(HQK) mice were fed food pellets either lacking or containing 6g doxycycline (Dox)/kg food to induce PrPC expression. Skeletal muscles from the quadriceps of hind legs were removed at day 0, 4, 7, 14, 30 and 60 days following administration of Dox. Total RNA was isolated from these tissues for use in subsequent microarray analysis. Mouse gene expression was analysed by two-colour microarray experiments using an inhouse manufactured 16K mouse cDNA microarray. Age matched reference mice (WT) and experimental (KO and HQK) Alexa Flour labeled aRNA were used in each competitive hybridization. Each sample was labeled individually with both Alexa Fluor 555 and 647 for subsequent dye-swapped hybridizations to account for intensity bias. 3 individual mice from each experimental group at each time point were individually processed for separate microarrays. We used the program EDGE to identify genes that were differentially expressed in mouse skeletal muscle in either transgenic HQK mice over expressing PrP, or PrP knock out (KO) mice after administration of Dox. We used a P value cut-off of 0.05 as the criteria of selection of significantly differentially expressed genes.

Project description:Maintaining skeletal muscle mass is of high importance as muscle atrophy like during sarcopenia or cachexia lead to a decrease in independence and a higher risk of morbidity and mortality. A leading compound in the treatment against ageing and cancer is rapamycin, an inhibitor of mechanistic target of rapamycin complex 1 (mTORC1). Whether the treatment with mTORC1 inhibitors would work at a cost of losing muscle mass is unclear, as most studies have been focusing on the role of mTORC1 specifically during hypertrophy. In order to answer this question we developed an inducible muscle specific knockout mouse model in which raptor can be ablated during adulthood to eliminate mTORC1 activity. We analysed the muscles after different time points and found that after 3 months the mice showed a fiber shift towards slower fiber types, a loss in oxidative capacity but only very few myopathic features. After 5 months the myopathic features became more apparent, however it did not largely affect the ex vivo muscle force. Surprisingly despite the myopathy we did not see a significant loss of muscle mass even after 5 months, that we hypothesised based on mTORC1s central role in protein synthesis. We assume that the myopathy after long-term mTORC1 inactivation is mostly a result of secondary effects through the loss of mitochondria, alterations in metabolism and in cytoskeletal components. In conclusion, during skeletal muscle maintenance mTORC1 is more essential for metabolic processes than it is for maintaining basal muscle mass.Maintaining skeletal muscle mass is of high importance as muscle atrophy like during sarcopenia or cachexia lead to a decrease in independence and a higher risk of morbidity and mortality. A leading compound in the treatment against ageing and cancer is rapamycin, an inhibitor of mechanistic target of rapamycin complex 1 (mTORC1). Whether the treatment with mTORC1 inhibitors would work at a cost of losing muscle mass is unclear, as most studies have been focusing on the role of mTORC1 specifically during hypertrophy. In order to answer this question we developed an inducible muscle specific knockout mouse model in which raptor can be ablated during adulthood to eliminate mTORC1 activity. We analysed the muscles after different time points and found that after 3 months the mice showed a fiber shift towards slower fiber types, a loss in oxidative capacity but only very few myopathic features. After 5 months the myopathic features became more apparent, however it did not largely affect the ex vivo muscle force. Surprisingly despite the myopathy we did not see a significant loss of muscle mass even after 5 months, that we hypothesised based on mTORC1s central role in protein synthesis. We assume that the myopathy after long-term mTORC1 inactivation is mostly a result of secondary effects through the loss of mitochondria, alterations in metabolism and in cytoskeletal components. In conclusion, during skeletal muscle maintenance mTORC1 is more essential for metabolic processes than it is for maintaining basal muscle mass.

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Mus musculus

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