Neurotrophins, airway smooth muscle and the fetal breathing-like movements

Central nervous system and skeletal muscles secrete a group of polypeptide hormones called neurotrophins (NTs). More recent studies show that NTs and their receptors are also expressed in the lung, suggesting a role for NTs in lung development. To examine the role of NTs during normal and diseased lung organogenesis, we employed wild-type and amyogenic mouse embryos (designated as Myf5-/-:MyoD-/-). Amyogenic embryos completely lacked skeletal muscles and were not viable after birth due to the respiratory failure secondary to lung hypoplasia. To examine the importance of lung-secreted NTs during normal and hypoplastic lung organogenesis, immunohistochemistry was employed. Distribution of NTs and their receptors was indistinguishable between normal and hypoplastic lungs. To further examine the importance of non-lung-secreted NTs (e.g., from the skeletal muscle and CNS) in lung organogenesis, in utero injections of two NTs were performed. The exogenously introduced NTs (i.e., non-lung-secreted) did not appear to improve development of the lung in amyogenic embryos. Moreover, immunohistochemistry showed significantly reduced number of airway smooth muscle cells (ASMCs) in hypoplastic lungs of amyogenic embryos, suggesting that the number of ASMCs is primarily regulated by the fetal breathing-like movements (i.e., mechanical factors).     

Diagnostic Ultrasound Imaging of Mouse Diaphragm Function

Function analysis of rodent respiratory skeletal muscles, particularly the diaphragm, is commonly performed by isolating muscle strips using invasive surgical procedures. Although this is an effective method of assessing in vitro diaphragm activity, it involves non-survival surgery. The application of non-invasive ultrasound imaging as an in vivo procedure is beneficial since it not only reduces the number of animals sacrificed, but is also suitable for monitoring disease progression in live mice. Thus, our ultrasound imaging method may likely assist in the development of novel therapies that alleviate muscle injury induced by various respiratory diseases. Particularly, in clinical diagnoses of obstructive lung diseases, ultrasound imaging has the potential to be used in conjunction with other standard tests to detect the early onset of diaphragm muscle fatigue. In the current protocol, we describe how to accurately evaluate diaphragm contractility in a mouse model using a diagnostic ultrasound imaging technique.     

Exposure to cigarette smoke induces overexpression of von Hippel-Lindau tumor suppressor in mouse skeletal muscle

Cigarette smoke (CS) is a well-established risk factor in the development of chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD). In contrast, the extent to which CS exposure contributes to the development of the systemic manifestations of COPD, such as skeletal muscle dysfunction and wasting, remains largely unknown. Decreased skeletal muscle capillarization has been previously reported in early stages of COPD and might play an important role in the development of COPD-associated skeletal muscle abnormalities. To investigate the effects of chronic CS exposure on skeletal muscle capillarization and exercise tolerance, a mouse model of CS exposure was used. The 129/SvJ mice were exposed to CS for 6 mo, and the expression of putative elements of the hypoxia-angiogenic signaling cascade as well as muscle capillarization were studied. Additionally, functional tests assessing exercise tolerance/endurance were performed in mice. Compared with controls, skeletal muscles from CS-exposed mice exhibited significantly enhanced expression of von Hippel-Lindau tumor suppressor (VHL), ubiquitin-conjugating enzyme E2D1 (UBE2D1), and prolyl hydroxylase-2 (PHD2). In contrast, hypoxia-inducible factor-1α (HIF-1α) and vascular endothelial growth factor (VEGF) expression was reduced. Furthermore, reduced muscle fiber cross-sectional area, decreased skeletal muscle capillarization, and reduced exercise tolerance were also observed in CS-exposed animals. Taken together, the current results provide evidence linking chronic CS exposure and induction of VHL expression in skeletal muscles leading toward impaired hypoxia-angiogenesis signal transduction, reduced muscle fiber cross-sectional area, and decreased exercise tolerance.     

AS160 regulates insulin- and contraction-stimulated glucose uptake in mouse skeletal muscle

Insulin and contraction are potent stimulators of GLUT4 translocation and increase skeletal muscle glucose uptake. We recently identified the Rab GTPase-activating protein (GAP) AS160 as a putative point of convergence linking distinct upstream signaling cascades induced by insulin and contraction in mouse skeletal muscle. Here, we studied the functional implications of these AS160 signaling events by using an in vivo electroporation technique to overexpress wild type and three AS160 mutants in mouse tibialis anterior muscles: 1) AS160 mutated to prevent phosphorylation on four regulatory phospho-Akt-substrate sites (4P); 2) AS160 mutated to abolish Rab GTPase activity (R/K); and 3) double mutant AS160 containing both 4P and R/K mutations (2M). One week following gene injection, protein expression for all AS160 isoforms was elevated over 7-fold. To determine the effects of AS160 on insulin- and contraction-stimulated glucose uptake in transfected muscles, we measured [3H]2-deoxyglucose uptake in vivo following intravenous glucose administration and in situ muscle contraction, respectively. Insulin-stimulated glucose uptake was significantly inhibited in muscles overexpressing 4P mutant AS160. However, this inhibition was completely prevented by concomitant disruption of AS160 Rab GAP activity. Transfection with 4P mutant AS160 also significantly impaired contraction-stimulated glucose uptake, as did overexpression of wild type AS160. In contrast, overexpressing mutant AS160 lacking Rab GAP activity resulted in increases in both sham and contraction-stimulated muscles. These data suggest that AS160 regulates both insulin- and contraction-stimulated glucose metabolism in mouse skeletal muscle in vivo and that the effects of mutant AS160 on the actions of insulin and contraction are not identical. Our findings directly implicate AS160 as a critical convergence factor for independent stimulators of skeletal muscle glucose uptake.     

Inducible NOS inhibition reverses tobacco-smoke-induced emphysema and pulmonary hypertension in mice

Chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) is one of the most common causes of death worldwide. We report in an emphysema model of mice chronically exposed to tobacco smoke that pulmonary vascular dysfunction, vascular remodeling, and pulmonary hypertension (PH) precede development of alveolar destruction. We provide evidence for a causative role of inducible nitric oxide synthase (iNOS) and peroxynitrite in this context. Mice lacking iNOS were protected against emphysema and PH. Treatment of wild-type mice with the iNOS inhibitor N(6)-(1-iminoethyl)-L-lysine (L-NIL) prevented structural and functional alterations of both the lung vasculature and alveoli and also reversed established disease. In chimeric mice lacking iNOS in bone marrow (BM)-derived cells, PH was dependent on iNOS from BM-derived cells, whereas emphysema development was dependent on iNOS from non-BM-derived cells. Similar regulatory and structural alterations as seen in mouse lungs were found in lung tissue from humans with end-stage COPD.     

Lymphatic ontogeny and effect of hypoplasia in developing lung

The pulmonary lymphatic vasculature plays a vital role in maintaining fluid homeostasis required for efficient gas exchange at capillary alveolar barriers and contributes to lung fluid clearance at birth. To further understanding of pulmonary lymphatic function at birth, lineage-tracing analysis of mouse lung was used. Lineage analysis confirmed that lymphatic endothelial cells (LEC) bud from extrapulmonary lymphatics and demonstrated that LEC migrate into developing lung along precise pathways. LEC cluster first in the primary bronchovascular region then along the secondary broncho-arterial regions and along veins. Small lymphatic vessels in distal lung develop from LEC that have migrated into lung mesenchyme from the extrapulmonary lymphatics. Finally, proximal and distal lymphatics remodel to form vessels with lumens in stereotypical locations. Loss of function analysis with lung-specific expression of a secreted form of the extracellular domain of vascular endothelial growth factor receptor-3 (dnR3) caused significant embryonic pulmonary lymphatic hypoplasia with fourfold reduction in distal LEC. Lung-specific expression of dnR3 did not affect blood vascular development, overall lung organogenesis or lymphatic development in other organs. Neonatal mice with pulmonary lymphatic hypoplasia developed respiratory distress with significantly increased mortality. During the transition to air breathing, lymphatic hypoplasia adversely affected fetal lung fluid clearance as determined by wet/dry weight analysis and morphometric analysis of bronchovascular cuffing and mesenchymal thickening. Surfactant synthesis was unaffected. Together, these data demonstrate that lung lymphatics develop autonomously and that pulmonary lymphatic hypoplasia is detrimental to survival of the neonate due to impaired lung fluid clearance.     

IGF-II ameliorates the dystrophic phenotype and coordinately down-regulates programmed cell death

Duchenne muscular dystrophy (DMD) is a fatal and crippling disease of skeletal muscle which displays increased fibre turnover and elevated levels of programmed cell death (PCD) in muscle stem cells. Previously we showed that this cell death is inhibited by the growth factor IGF-II. To determine the functional significance of PCD to the dystrophic phenotype, we used a transgene to over-express IGF-II in the mdx mouse. We found that ectopic expression of IGF-II inhibited the elevated PCD observed in skeletal muscles in the absence of functional dystrophin and significantly ameliorates the early gross histopathological changes in skeletal muscles characteristic of the dystrophic phenotype. Replacement of the dystrophin gene abolished abnormal skeletal muscle cell PCD levels in vivo in a dose-dependent manner and in dystrophic SMS cell lines cultured in vitro. Thus elevation of stem cell PCD in dystrophic skeletal muscle is a direct consequence of the loss of functional dystrophin. Together these data demonstrate that elevated skeletal muscle cell PCD is a critical component of dystrophic pathology and is inversely correlated with both dystrophin gene dosage and with muscle fibre pathology. Targeting PCD in dystrophic muscles reduces both PCD and the classical features of dystrophic pathology in the mdx mouse suggesting that IGF-II is a strong candidate for therapeutic intervention in the dystrophinopathies.     

Mice with a targeted disruption of the Fgfrl1 gene die at birth due to alterations in the diaphragm

FGFRL1 is a recently discovered member of the fibroblast growth factor receptor family that is lacking the intracellular tyrosine kinase domain. To elucidate the function of the novel receptor, we created mice with a targeted disruption of the Fgfrl1 gene. These mice develop normally until term, but die within a few minutes after birth due to respiratory failure. The respiratory problems are explained by a significant reduction in the size of the diaphragm muscle, which is not sufficient to inflate the lungs after birth. The remaining portion of the diaphragm muscle appears to be well developed and innervated. It consists of differentiated myofibers with nuclei at the periphery. Fast and slow muscle fibers occur in normal proportions. The myogenic regulatory factors MyoD, Myf5, myogenin and Mrf4 and the myocyte enhancer factors Mef2A, Mef2B, Mef2C and Mef2D are expressed at normal levels. Experiments with a cell culture model involving C2C12 myoblasts show that Fgfrl1 is expressed during the late stages of myotube formation. Other skeletal muscles do not appear to be affected in the Fgfrl1 deficient mice. Thus, Fgfrl1 plays a critical role in the development of the diaphragm.     

Absence of Functional Leptin Receptor Isoforms in the POUND (Leprdb/lb) Mouse Is Associated with Muscle Atrophy and Altered Myoblast Proliferation and Differentiation

Objective

Leptin receptors are abundant in human skeletal muscle, but the role of leptin in muscle growth, development and aging is not well understood. Here we utilized a novel mouse model lacking all functional leptin receptor isoforms (POUND mouse, Lepr^db/lb) to determine the role of leptin in skeletal muscle.

Methods and Findings

Skeletal muscle mass and fiber diameters were examined in POUND mice, and primary myoblast cultures were used to determine the effects of altered leptin signaling on myoblast proliferation and differentiation. ELISA assays, integrated pathway analysis of mRNA microarrays, and reverse phase protein analysis were performed to identify signaling pathways impacted by leptin receptor deficiency. Results show that skeletal muscle mass and fiber diameter are reduced 30–40% in POUND mice relative to wild-type controls. Primary myoblast cultures demonstrate decreased proliferation and decreased expression of both MyoD and myogenin in POUND mice compared to normal mice. Leptin treatment increased proliferation in primary myoblasts from muscles of both adult (12 months) and aged (24 months) wild-type mice, and leptin increased expression of MyoD and myogenin in aged primary myoblasts. ELISA assays and protein arrays revealed altered expression of molecules associated with the IGF-1/Akt and MAPK/MEK signaling pathways in muscle from the hindlimbs of mice lacking functional leptin receptors.

Conclusion

These data support the hypothesis that the adipokine leptin is a key factor important for the regulation of skeletal muscle mass, and that leptin can act directly on its receptors in peripheral tissues to regulate cell proliferation and differentiation.     

Generation of skeletal muscle from transplanted embryonic stem cells in dystrophic mice

Embryonic stem (ES) cells have great therapeutic potential because of their capacity to proliferate extensively and to form any fully differentiated cell of the body, including skeletal muscle cells. Successful generation of skeletal muscle in vivo, however, requires selective induction of the skeletal muscle lineage in cultures of ES cells and following transplantation, integration of appropriately differentiated skeletal muscle cells with recipient muscle. Duchenne muscular dystrophy (DMD), a severe progressive muscle wasting disease due to a mutation in the dystrophin gene and the mdx mouse, an animal model for DMD, are characterized by the absence of the muscle membrane associated protein, dystrophin. Here, we show that co-culturing mouse ES cells with a preparation from mouse muscle enriched for myogenic stem and precursor cells, followed by injection into mdx mice, results occasionally in the formation of normal, vascularized skeletal muscle derived from the transplanted ES cells. Study of this phenomenon should provide valuable insights into skeletal muscle development in vivo from transplanted ES cells.     

The earliest form of C-protein expressed during striated muscle development is immunologically the same as cardiac-type C-protein

A monoclonal antibody (C-315) specific for cardiac-type C-protein was prepared and, in combination with other antibodies specific for fast and slow skeletal muscle C-proteins, it was used to investigate the expression of C-protein isoforms in developing striated muscle cells in vivo and in vitro. During embryonic development of skeletal muscles, a C-protein recognized by C-315 appeared first but only transiently, it being replaced subsequently by two other isoforms recognized by the antibodies to slow and fast skeletal muscle C-proteins in a fiber-type specific manner as previously demonstrated (Obinata et al. (1984) Develop. Biol. 101, 116-124). In contrast, only cardiac-type C-protein was detected in cardiac muscle throughout the developmental stages. When myogenesis in vitro was monitored using the same antibodies, C-315 binding appeared first in multinucleated myotubes as in vivo which was followed by the sequential expression of two other C-protein variants. The reactivity of C-315 as well as that of anti-slow and anti-fast skeletal C-protein antibodies persisted during muscle development in culture. Thus, this study demonstrates that the earliest form of C-protein expressed in striated muscles may either be a cardiac-type isoform or a unique embryonic protein containing an epitope in common with the adult cardiac-type protein, and that transitions of C-protein isoform expression characteristic of each fiber-type occur during muscle development in vivo but not in vitro.     

Developmental changes of cardiac and slow skeletal muscle troponin T expression in chicken cardiac and skeletal muscles

Numerous troponin T (TnT) isoforms are produced by alternative splicing from three genes characteristic of cardiac, fast skeletal, and slow skeletal muscles. Apart from the developmental transition of fast skeletal muscle TnT isoforms, switching of TnT expression during muscle development is poorly understood. In this study, we investigated precisely and comprehensively developmental changes in chicken cardiac and slow skeletal muscle TnT isoforms by two-dimensional gel electrophoresis and immunoblotting with specific antisera. Four major isoforms composed of two each of higher and lower molecular weights were found in cardiac TnT (cTnT). Expression of cTnT changed from high- to low-molecular-weight isoforms during cardiac muscle development. On the other hand, such a transition was not found and only high-molecular-weight isoforms were expressed in the early stages of chicken skeletal muscle development. Two major and three minor isoforms of slow skeletal muscle TnT (sTnT), three of which were newly found in this study, were expressed in chicken skeletal muscles. The major sTnT isoforms were commonly detected throughout development in slow and mixed skeletal muscles, and at developmental stages until hatching-out in fast skeletal muscles. The expression of minor sTnT isoforms varied from muscle to muscle and during development.     

Temporal effects of Sprouty on lung morphogenesis

Paracrine signaling mediated by FGF-10 and the FGF-R2IIIb receptor is required for formation of the lung. To determine the temporal requirements for FGF signaling during pulmonary morphogenesis, Sprouty-4 (Spry-4), an intracellular FGF receptor antagonist, was expressed in epithelial cells of the fetal lung under control of a doxycycline-inducible system. Severe defects in lobulation and severe lung hypoplasia were observed when Spry-4 was expressed throughout fetal lung development (E6.5-E18.5) or from E6.5 until E13.5. Effects of Spry-4 on branching were substantially reversed by removal of doxycycline from the dam at E12.5, but not at E13.5. In contrast, when initiated late in development (E12.5 to birth), Spry-4 caused less severe pulmonary hypoplasia. Expression of Spry-4 from E16.5 to E18.5 reduced lung growth and resulted in perinatal death due to respiratory failure. Expression of Spry-4 during the saccular and alveolar stages, from E18.5 to postnatal day 21, caused mild emphysema. These findings demonstrate that the embryonic-pseudoglandular stage is a critical time period during which Spry-sensitive pathways are required for branching morphogenesis, lobulation, and formation of the peripheral lung parenchyma.     

Pitx3-CreER mice showing restricted Cre expression in developing ocular lens and skeletal muscles

To generate temporally controlled inactivation or activation of interested genes in Pitx3-expressing cells, the tamoxifen-inducible form of Cre, CreER(T2), was inserted into the Pitx3 locus of a mouse BAC clone. Following a single dose of tamoxifen, Cre activity in Pitx3-CreER(T2) transgenic mice was observed in the ocular lens and skeletal muscles but not in the central nervous system at various embryonic stages. This mouse line provides a reagent for driving inducible Cre-dependent recombination in the lens and skeletal muscles during embryonic development.     

Fusion Competence of Myoblasts Rendered Genetically Null for N-Cadherin in Culture

Myoblast fusion is essential to muscle tissue development yet remains poorly understood. N-cadherin, like other cell surface adhesion molecules, has been implicated by others in muscle formation based on its pattern of expression and on inhibition of myoblast aggregation and fusion by antibodies or peptide mimics. Mice rendered homozygous null for N-cadherin revealed the general importance of the molecule in early development, but did not test a role in skeletal myogenesis, since the embryos died before muscle formation. To test genetically the proposed role of N-cadherin in myoblast fusion, we successfully obtained N-cadherin null primary myoblasts in culture. Fusion of myoblasts expressing or lacking N-cadherin was found to be equivalent, both in vitro by intracistronic complementation of lacZ and in vivo by injection into the muscles of adult mice. An essential role for N-cadherin in mediating the effects of basic fibroblast growth factor was also excluded. These methods for obtaining genetically homozygous null somatic cells from adult tissues should have broad applications. Here, they demonstrate clearly that the putative fusion molecule, N-cadherin, is not essential for myoblast fusion.