大鼠肌卫星细胞移植失神经骨骼肌的形态学观测

目的探讨大鼠肌卫星细胞移植能否延缓失神经骨骼肌萎缩。方法将16只成年Wistar大鼠分为实验组与对照组,两组均切断大鼠右后肢胫神经,建立腓肠肌失神经动物模型。实验组：将体外培养的同种异体肌卫星细胞悬液0．2mL缓慢注射到失神经腓肠肌内、外侧头中;对照组：则缓慢注射等量的生理盐水于相同部位。术后第4周,采用肌湿重、肌纤维横截面积形态学观测的方法,检测失神经骨骼肌的萎缩变化情况。结果成功地对成年大鼠肌卫星细胞进行了分离、纯化、鉴定、培养和移植。发现实验组与对照组相比,失神经腓肠肌湿重残存率（由手术侧与自身健侧的肌湿重测定值之比得出）：实验组为0．48±0．050,对照组为0．33±0．059,二者存在显著性差异（P〈0．01）;腓肠肌纤维横截面积残存率（由手术侧与自身健侧的肌纤维横截面积测定值之比得出）：实验组为0．58±0．011,对照组为0．50±0．018,二者存在显著性差异（P〈0．01）。结论本实验表明将肌卫星细胞异体移植到失神经骨骼肌内可明显延缓骨骼肌的萎缩进程,为再生神经到达靶器官提供较多的时间,进而为解决再生神经延伸到靶器官前,靶器官已发生不可逆性萎缩,严重制约再生神经效果的临床难题提供一个新的研究思路。     

骨骼肌失神经萎缩的细胞分子生物学研究进展

周围神经损伤后,骨骼肌因神经的营养作用丧失及自身废用而发生萎缩,出现一系列形态结构、生理生化及代谢功能等方面的改变。而神经损伤后,骨骼肌萎缩的防治一直是周围神经外科的一大难题,当骨骼肌萎缩发展到不可逆阶段将导致神经修复手术的失败。因此,进一步探索不同时段失神经后萎缩肌肉的形态结构、生理、生化变化以及它们之间的相互关系,为寻找检测肌肉萎缩程度的方法和更好的防治具有重要临床意义。     

运动调控昼夜节律在抗肌萎缩中的作用

随着全球老龄化进程加剧,老年人口剧增,伴随着工作和生活方式的改变,导致体育锻炼减少与生活作息不规律等问题愈发严重。这样的结果显著增加了骨骼肌萎缩的发病率,降低了老年和慢性疾病人群机体健康,影响其生活质量。与此同时,饮食不均衡和运动量降低以及激素水平波动等进一步加剧骨骼肌萎缩的发生,其病理机制主要为慢性炎症加重、线粒体功能障碍、自噬功能状态低下、细胞凋亡增加、肌卫星细胞功能受损以及昼夜节律紊乱等。其中,随着昼夜节律相关研究的深入,骨骼肌作为机体最大的外周生物钟,可通过调控昼夜节律核心基因BMAL1以及CLOCK基因,对骨骼肌纤维结构、线粒体功能、肌肉质量等产生影响。运动锻炼作为改善骨骼肌质量的重要干预策略,还可激活昼夜节律信号通路,调控其相位,进而改善肌肉再生、提高肌肉力量,发挥延缓肌萎缩作用。为此,本文从昼夜节律的角度去阐述其与肌萎缩发生以及潜在运动干预的分子机制,以期为肌萎缩的预防、治疗及康复提供新的靶向思路。     

血管内皮生长因子的神经保护作用

血管内皮生长因子（vascular endothelial growth factor,VEGF）是内皮细胞特异性的生长因子,大多数关于VEGF的研究都是致力于其在血管生长方面的作用,而近年来有大量文献报道VEGF具有神经营养和促神经发生作用,它能够直接作用于神经元细胞和神经胶质细胞甚至是神经干细胞,促进其生长及存活。VEGF的多种功能使其和多种神经退行性疾病相关,如阿茨海默病,肌萎缩侧索硬化症,帕金森病等。导入VEGF基因能够改善肌萎缩侧索硬化症、帕金森病动物模型的病情。     

鼠胚胎运动神经元胫神经内种植的观察

目的：观察胚胎运动神经元移植至入肌点前神经内的存活情况。方法：取孕１２天胎鼠运动神经元,种植于成鼠入肌点前胫神经内,于实验后９、２２周取材作尼氏、Ｗｅｉｌ氏、肌动蛋白免疫组织化学、ＡＴＰ酶组织化学及氯化金染色观察。结果：胚胎运动神经元在周围神经干内能存活和发育,并减缓失神经骨骼肌及运动终板的萎缩     

骨骼肌细胞的凋亡

细胞凋亡是受基因调控的细胞死亡方式,与机体组织的萎缩和退化关系密切,近年来有人将骨骼肌的萎缩和退化与细胞凋亡联系起来,认为细胞凋亡可能在骨骼肌萎缩和退化中发挥重要作用,本文综述了近年来对骨骼肌肌肉细胞和未分化肌细胞的凋亡及其基因调控的研究,以期进一步阐明骨骼肌萎缩和退化的发生机制,为临床上寻找延缓骨骼肌萎缩的治疗方法提供一些思路。     

肥胖诱导的骨骼肌萎缩机制研究进展

骨骼肌是人体氨基酸和蛋白质的主要贮存、代谢库,其正常功能和代谢过程受到多种病理因素的影响。骨骼肌萎缩发生于骨骼肌稳态严重失衡状态下,对患者生活和社会医疗造成了沉重负担。近年来,由于世界肥胖人群数量激增,肥胖诱导的骨骼肌萎缩正日益成为公共卫生的严峻挑战之一。肥胖诱导的骨骼肌萎缩过程涉及多种信号分子或通路的改变,如泛素蛋白酶系统、自噬溶酶体系统、胰岛素/IGF1-PI3K-Akt、肌肉生长抑制素、白细胞介素-6、肿瘤坏死因子等;这些信号分子或通路在肥胖状态下被激活或抑制后,可共同影响蛋白质合成/分解平衡进而造成骨骼肌萎缩。基于上述信号分子或通路,系统总结并讨论了肥胖诱导的骨骼肌萎缩机制,以期为寻找缓解/治疗肥胖诱导的肌萎缩靶点和进一步开发利用天然植物化学物提供理论依据。     

microRNA在衰老性肌萎缩和运动干预中的调节作用

衰老性肌萎缩症是由于衰老所致的骨骼肌质量减少及功能减退的增龄性机能退化症,运动干预是其防治的最有效措施之一。研究表明,microRNAs (miRNAs)作为基因表达的调控因子,通过调节骨骼肌发育(增殖、分化)、线粒体生物发生、蛋白质合成与降解、炎症反应和代谢途径来维持衰老骨骼肌细胞稳态。此外,运动可改变miRNAs表达水平,调节骨骼肌细胞的代谢平衡,从而改善衰老相关的骨骼肌质量、组成和功能的变化。本文综述了miRNAs在衰老性肌萎缩症中的调节机制,阐述在运动条件下miRNAs在衰老性肌萎缩症中的调控作用和分子机制,以期为预防和治疗衰老性肌萎缩症提供新的思路。     

IGF-1在治疗骨骼肌损伤中的应用潜能及其相关机制

胰岛素样生长因子-1(IGF-1)作为一种生长因子,在骨骼肌损伤后治疗过程中发挥重要的作用。局部注射外源性IGF-1或通过转基因技术使损伤处骨骼肌细胞过表达IGF-1,均能促进损伤骨骼肌再生。IGF-1促进损伤骨骼肌修复的机制可能与如下因素有关:激活骨骼肌卫星细胞,促进成肌细胞增殖与分化,促进蛋白质合成并抑制蛋白分解;抑制骨骼肌炎症反应,并调节巨噬细胞极化;抑制细胞表达胶原蛋白,减少骨骼肌纤维化;作为一种潜在的神经营养因子和生血管因子,促进损伤后的神经和血管再生。因此,IGF-1在骨骼肌损伤后的治疗中具有重要的应用前景。     

肌卫星细胞在失重肌萎缩中的可塑性变化及机制

肌卫星细胞在骨骼肌生长发育和出生后骨骼肌损伤修复中起着重要的作用,但是有关肌萎缩中肌卫星细胞的可塑性变化、作用及其机制尚不清楚.本研究采用小鼠尾悬吊模拟失重效应诱导失重肌萎缩,动态分析了失重肌萎缩发生过程中不同类型肌纤维的肌卫星细胞数量和增殖、分化潜能可塑性的改变,发现在失重肌萎缩过程中,处于安静状态的肌卫星细胞显著增多、激活增殖的肌卫星细胞显著减少,而具有成肌分化潜能的肌卫星细胞有持续减少趋势.此外,在失重肌萎缩比目鱼肌单根肌纤维移出的体外培养中,证明了失重肌萎缩肌纤维肌卫星细胞可塑性降低的特征性变化.进一步,通过对比分析Smad3基因敲除及其同窝野生型小鼠,在失重肌萎缩中肌卫星细胞可塑性的差异性变化,揭示了Smad3在调控失重肌萎缩肌卫星细胞可塑性变化中的关键作用.     

HMGB1/autophagy pathway mediates the atrophic effect of TGF-β1 in denervated skeletal muscle

Background

Transforming growth factor beta 1 (TGF-β1) is a classical modulator of skeletal muscle and regulates several processes, such as myogenesis, regeneration and muscle function in skeletal muscle diseases. Skeletal muscle atrophy, characterized by the loss of muscle strength and mass, is one of the pathological conditions regulated by TGF-β1, but the underlying mechanism involved in the atrophic effects of TGF-β1 is not fully understood.

Methods

Mice sciatic nerve transection model was created and gastrocnemius were analysed by western blot, immunofluorescence staining and fibre diameter quantification after 2 weeks. Exogenous TGF-β1 was administrated and high-mobility group box-1 (HMGB1), autophagy were blocked by siRNA and chloroquine (CQ) respectively to explore the mechanism of the atrophic effect of TGF-β1 in denervated muscle. Similar methods were performed in C2C12 cells.

Results

We found that TGF-β1 was induced in denervated muscle and it could promote atrophy of skeletal muscle both in vivo and in vitro, up-regulated HMGB1 and increased autophagy activity were also detected in denervated muscle and were further promoted by exogenous TGF-β1. The atrophic effect of TGF-β1 could be inhibited when HMGB1/autophagy pathway was blocked.

Conclusions

Thus, our data revealed that TGF-β1 is a vital regulatory factor in denervated skeletal muscle in which HMGB1/ autophagy pathway mediates the atrophic effect of TGF-β1. Our findings confirmed a new pathway in denervation-induced skeletal muscle atrophy and it may be a novel therapeutic target for patients with muscle atrophy after peripheral nerve injury.

     

Functional Recovery of Denervated Skeletal Muscle with Sensory or Mixed Nerve Protection: A Pilot Study

Functional recovery is usually poor following peripheral nerve injury when reinnervation is delayed. Early innervation by sensory nerve has been indicated to prevent atrophy of the denervated muscle. It is hypothesized that early protection with sensory axons is adequate to improve functional recovery of skeletal muscle following prolonged denervation of mixed nerve injury. In this study, four groups of rats received surgical denervation of the tibial nerve. The proximal and distal stumps of the tibial nerve were ligated in all animals except for those in the immediate repair group. The experimental groups underwent denervation with nerve protection of peroneal nerve (mixed protection) or sural nerve (sensory protection). The experimental and unprotected groups had a stage II surgery in which the trimmed proximal and distal tibial nerve stumps were sutured together. After 3 months of recovery, electrophysiological, histological and morphometric parameters were assessed. It was detected that the significant muscle atrophy and a good preserved structure of the muscle were observed in the unprotected and protective experimental groups, respectively. Significantly fewer numbers of regenerated myelinated axons were observed in the sensory-protected group. Enhanced recovery in the mixed protection group was indicated by the results of the muscle contraction force tests, regenerated myelinated fiber, and the results of the histological analysis. Our results suggest that early axons protection by mixed nerve may complement sensory axons which are required for promoting functional recovery of the denervated muscle natively innervated by mixed nerve.     

Improved Neurological Outcome by Intramuscular Injection of Human Amniotic Fluid Derived Stem Cells in a Muscle Denervation Model

PurposeThe skeletal muscle develops various degrees of atrophy and metabolic dysfunction following nerve injury. Neurotrophic factors are essential for muscle regeneration. Human amniotic fluid derived stem cells (AFS) have the potential to secrete various neurotrophic factors necessary for nerve regeneration. In the present study, we assess the outcome of neurological function by intramuscular injection of AFS in a muscle denervation and nerve anastomosis model.ResultsNT-3 (Neurotrophin 3), BDNF (Brain derived neurotrophic factor), CNTF (Ciliary neurotrophic factor), and GDNF (Glia cell line derived neurotrophic factor) were highly expressed in AFS cells and supernatant of culture medium. Intra-muscular injection of AFS exerted significant expression of several neurotrophic factors over the distal end of nerve and denervated muscle. AFS caused high expression of Bcl-2 in denervated muscle with a reciprocal decrease of Bad and Bax. AFS preserved the muscle morphology with high expression of desmin and acetylcholine receptors. Up to two months, AFS produced significant improvement in electrophysiological study and neurological functions such as SFI (sciatic nerve function index) and Catwalk gait analysis. There was also significant preservation of the number of anterior horn cells and increased nerve myelination as well as muscle morphology.ConclusionIntramuscular injection of AFS can protect muscle apoptosis and likely does so through the secretion of various neurotrophic factors. This protection furthermore improves the nerve regeneration in a long term nerve anastomosis model.     

Tibial Nerve Transection - A Standardized Model for Denervation-induced Skeletal Muscle Atrophy in Mice

The tibial nerve transection model is a well-tolerated, validated, and reproducible model of denervation-induced skeletal muscle atrophy in rodents. Although originally developed and used extensively in the rat due to its larger size, the tibial nerve in mice is big enough that it can be easily manipulated with either crush or transection, leaving the peroneal and sural nerve branches of the sciatic nerve intact and thereby preserving their target muscles. Thus, this model offers the advantages of inducing less morbidity and impediment of ambulation than the sciatic nerve transection model and also allows investigators to study the physiologic, cellular and molecular biologic mechanisms regulating the process of muscle atrophy in genetically engineered mice. The tibial nerve supplies the gastrocnemius, soleus and plantaris muscles, so its transection permits the study of denervated skeletal muscle composed of fast twitch type II fibers and/or slow twitch type I fibers. Here we demonstrate the tibial nerve transection model in the C57Black6 mouse. We assess the atrophy of the gastrocnemius muscle, as a representative muscle, at 1, 2, and 4 weeks post-denervation by measuring muscle weights and fiber type specific cross-sectional area on paraffin-embedded histologic sections immunostained for fast twitch myosin.     

Reduction of skeletal muscle atrophy by a proteasome inhibitor in a rat model of denervation

The ubiquitin-proteasome system is the primary proteolytic pathway implicated in skeletal muscle atrophy under catabolic conditions. Although several studies showed that proteasome inhibitors reduced proteolysis under catabolic conditions, few studies have demonstrated the ability of these inhibitors to preserve skeletal muscle mass and architecture in vivo. To explore this, we studied the effect of the proteasome inhibitor Velcade (also known as PS-341 and bortezomib) in denervated skeletal muscle in rats. Rats were given vehicle or Velcade (3 mg/kg po) daily for 7 days beginning immediately after induction of muscle atrophy by crushing the sciatic nerve. At the end of the study, the rats were euthanized and the soleus and extensor digitorum longus (EDL) muscles were harvested. In vehicle-treated rats, denervation caused a 33.5 +/- 2.8% and 16.2 +/- 2.7% decrease in the soleus and EDL muscle wet weights (% atrophy), respectively, compared to muscles from the contralateral (innervated) limb. Velcade significantly reduced denervation-induced atrophy to 17.1 +/- 3.3% in the soleus (P < 0.01), a 51.6% reduction in atrophy associated with denervation, with little effect on the EDL (9.8 +/- 3.2% atrophy). Histology showed a preservation of muscle mass and preservation of normal cellular architecture after Velcade treatment. Ubiquitin mRNA levels in denervated soleus muscle at the end of the study were significantly elevated 120 +/- 25% above sham control levels and were reduced to control levels by Velcade. In contrast, testosterone proprionate (3 mg/kg sc) did not alleviate denervation-induced skeletal muscle atrophy but did prevent castration-induced levator ani atrophy, while Velcade was without effect. These results show that proteasome inhibition attenuates denervation-induced muscle atrophy in vivo in soleus muscles. However, this mechanism may not be operative in all types of atrophy.     

Expression of ARPP-16/19 in rat denervated skeletal muscle

It is known that denervation of rat skeletal muscle causes atrophy and this is often adopted as a model for human muscle atrophy. To understand the molecular changes that occur, it is important to identify the profiles of differential gene expression. In the present study, we investigated differentially expressed genes in denervated muscle using DNA microarrays with printed genes preferentially expressed in skeletal muscle. We found that several genes are differentially expressed. Of these genes, ARPP-16/19 (cAMP-regulated phosphoprotein 16/19) is selectively enhanced after denervation. The expression of ARPP-16/19 in denervated muscles starts to increase from two days after denervation surgery. On the other hand, the expression of ARPP-16/19 does not change in hind-limb suspended muscles, such as EDL and soleus muscles. These results suggest that the increase in ARPP-16/19 mRNA expression is regulated by unknown factor(s) secreted from nerves, and not by electrical muscle activity.     

Differential Expression of Ciliary Neurotrophic Factor Receptor in Skeletal Muscle of Chick and Rat After Nerve Injury

Abstract: The activities of ciliary neurotrophic factor (CNTF) were initially thought to be restricted to cells in the nervous system. However, the recent identification of its receptor specificity-conferring α component (CNTFRα) in skeletal muscle has provided the clue to the unexpected actions of CNTF in the periphery. In the present study, we demonstrated that the mRNA expression of CNTFRα in chick skeletal muscle was decreased by ∼10-fold after nerve transection; this finding is in sharp contrast to the dramatic up-regulation observed in denervated rat muscle. As a first step toward investigating the differential regulation of CNTFRα in chick and rat, we examined the mRNA expression of CNTFRα in different types of muscle following nerve injury in young and adult animals. Our findings demonstrated that the differential expression of CNTFRα observed in denervated skeletal muscle of the chick and rat was not dependent on age or muscle type. The temporal profile of the changes in CNTFRα expression was, however, dependent on the age of the chick as well as the types of muscle. Furthermore, the low level of CNTFRα expression observed in denervated chick muscle recovered to almost control levels in regenerating skeletal muscle. Taken together, our findings provided the first extensive analysis on the mRNA expression of CNTFRα and the α subunit of the acetylcholine receptor in various skeletal muscles of the chick following nerve injury and regeneration.