Role of the calpain system in muscle growth.

Muscle protein degradation has an important role in rate of muscle growth. It has been difficult to develop procedures for measuring rate of muscle protein degradation in living animals, and most studies have used in vitro systems and muscle strips to determine rate of protein degradation. The relationship between results obtained by using muscle strips and rate of muscle protein turnover in living animals is unclear because these strips are in negative nitrogen balance and often develop hypoxic cores. Also, rate of protein degradation is usually estimated by release of labeled amino acids, which reflects an average rate of degradation of all cellular proteins and does not distinguish between rates of degradation of different groups of proteins such as the sarcoplasmic and the myofibrillar proteins in muscle. A number of studies have suggested that the calpain system initiates turnover of myofibrillar proteins, which are the major group of proteins in striated muscle, by making specific cleavages that release thick and thin filaments from the surface of the myofibril and large polypeptide fragments from some of the other myofibrillar proteins. The calpains do not degrade myofibrillar proteins to small peptides or to amino acids, and they cause no bulk degradation of sarcoplasmic proteins. Hence, the calpains are not directly responsible for release of amino acids during muscle protein turnover. Activity of the calpains in living cells is regulated by calpastatin and Ca2+, but the nature of this regulation is still unclear.     

Toxic impact of phosphamidon on protein degradation in phasic and tonic muscles of marine prawn, Penaeus indicus (H. Milne Edwards).

Levels of various protein fractions, (sarcoplasmic, myosin, actin, non-collagen and collagen) and the rate of their degradation by proteases were studied in phasic and tonic muscles of marine prawn, Penaeus indicus following acute (2 d) and chronic (15 d) exposure to sublethal concentration of phosphamidon. During exposure, greater decrease in sarcoplasmic protein fraction was observed in phasic muscle as compared to other myofibrillar proteins. But the sarcoplasmic protein content showed an elevation in tonic muscle. The changes in protein fractions were more pronounced during acute exposure than chronic exposure both in phasic and tonic muscles. These changes were correlated with the elevation of the acidic, neutral and basic protease activities during acute and chronic exposure. Free amino acids were increased during acute exposure, while they showed a significant decrease during chronic exposure in both the muscles. These results indicate that protein metabolism in both phasic and tonic muscles was significantly altered following phosphamidon exposure. These differential responses observed at acute and chronic exposure indicate the operation of compensatory mechanisms to mitigate the phosphamidon toxic stress.     

Effect of hypokinesia on nucleic acid and protein metabolism in the lymphoid organs of rats

Metabolism of nucleic acids and protein by lymphoid cells of the rat spleen and thymus was studied under conditions of 22-day hypokinesia. It was shown that in the course of hypokinesia the loss of cellular mass by the spleen and thymus was associated with varied biochemical changes in the remaining lymphoid cells. The thymocytes showed a significant activation of nucleic acid and protein biosynthesis. Meanwhile in spleen lymphocytes, DNA and RNA metabolism was inhibited with no appreciable changes in protein metabolism. Potential mechanisms of changes in metabolism of thymus and spleen lymphocytes under long-term hypokinesia are discussed.     

Regulation of myofibrillar protein turnover during maturation in normal and undernourished rat pups

The study tested the hypothesis that a higher rate of myofibrillar than sarcoplasmic protein synthesis is responsible for the rapid postdifferentiation accumulation of myofibrils and that an inadequate nutrient intake will compromise primarily myofibrillar protein synthesis. Myofibrillar (total and individual) and sarcoplasmic protein synthesis, accretion, and degradation rates were measured in vivo in well-nourished (C) rat pups at 6, 15, and 28 days of age and compared at 6 and 15 days of age with pups undernourished (UN) from birth. In 6-day-old C pups, a higher myofibrillar than sarcoplasmic protein synthesis rate accounted for the greater deposition of myofibrillar than sarcoplasmic proteins. The fractional synthesis rates of both protein compartments decreased with age, but to a greater degree for myofibrillar proteins (-54 vs. -42%). These decreases in synthesis rates were partially offset by reductions in degradation rates, and from 15 days, myofibrillar and sarcoplasmic proteins were deposited in constant proportion to one another. Undernutrition reduced both myofibrillar and sarcoplasmic protein synthesis rates, and the effect was greater at 6 (-25%) than 15 days (-15%). Decreases in their respective degradation rates minimized the effect of undernutrition on sarcoplasmic protein accretion from 4 to 8 days and on myofibrillar proteins from 13 to 17 days. Although these adaptations in protein turnover reduced overall growth of muscle mass, they mitigated the effects of undernutrition on the normal maturational changes in myofibrillar protein concentration.     

Determination in vitro of the rate of protein synthesis and degradation in human-skeletal-muscle tissue.

The present studies were aimed to evaluate the possibility to use a system for estimation in vitro of the biosynthesis and degradation rates of human skeletal muscle protein. A previously characterized human skeletal muscle preparation was used. Amino acids and insulin stimulated significantly the incorporation rate of leucine into proteins. The effect of amino acids was more pronounced than that of insulin. The stimulatory effect of insulin could be decreased by amino acids. Insulin did not influence the tissue uptake or the oxidation rate of leucine. The release of [14C]leucine deriving from degradation of prelabelled skeletal muscle fibre proteins was linear for at least 2.5 h of incubation and optimal with leucine at concentrations beyond 12.5 mmol/1 or in the presence of puromycin in the incubation medium. The rate of the release of radioactivity was significantly inhibited by amino acids and at borderline significance by insulin but not by puromycin. The specific radioactivity in prelabelled proteins decreased significantly in the presence of puromycin suggesting that leucine derived from protein degradation was reutilized in vitro. This reutilization was found to be 9 +/- 1% of leucine released from degradation of proteins in 30 subjects. A statistically significant positive correlation between the cathepsin D activity in human skeletal muscle tissue and the degradative rate of prelabelled muscle proteins in vitro was observed. The results indicate that biosynthesis and degradation of skeletal muscle proteins in this system in vitro were subjected to control mechanisms. It is suggested that the release of radioactivity from prelabelled muscle fibre proteins during incubation probably only reflects the degradation of some rapidly-turning-over proteins.     

Food control by applied biochemistry of marine organisms: Comparison of proteins and metabolites from fish and invertebrate muscle

Most fishery products consist of muscle tissue from fish and invertebrates. Differences in the molecular structure and in metabolism of muscles can be utilized to characterize and identify various seafood. Creatine and arginine were found to be useful for the differentiation between imitation crab/shrimp meat and real crustacean meat. Octopine served as an indicator for the meat of cephalopods and mussels. In order to identify the animal species of a fishery product, several electrophoretic methods were used. It depended on the type of product, whether sarcoplasmic or myofibrillar proteins were better suited. Raw products were best analysed by isoelectric focusing of sarcoplasmic proteins. Two types of sarcoplasmic calcium-binding proteins, parvalbumins of fish and soluble calcium-binding proteins of invertebrates, were especially useful for species identification. Due to their thermal stability, these proteins gave species-specific patterns for cooked products, too. Two other techniques were also investigated: urea gel isoelectric focusing, and sodium dodecyl sulphate — polyacrylamide gel electrophoresis. These methods were applied in the analysis of products where the sarcoplasmic proteins had been removed by washing steps, i.e. imitation crab meat made from surimi, and of other raw and cooked products. The myosin light chains gave protein patterns that were characteristic for many species. Paramyosin, which is absent from vertebrate muscle, indicated the presence of mollusc muscle. It was shown that the determination, of arginine kinase activity enabled differentiation between raw fish muscle and invertebrate muscles.     

Age-related changes in the incorporation of [14-C] leucine into myofibrillar and sarcoplasmic proteins of red and white muscles of chicks.

Studies on the incorporation of DL-[1- 14-C] leucine into myosin, total myofibrillar protein and total sarcoplasmic protein have shown age-dependent alterations in the rate of synthesis of these protiens in red and white skeletal muscles of chicks. During the early phase of ex ovo development white muscle synthesizes significantly higher amounts of myofibrillar proteins, especially myosin, in comparison with red muscle. The rate of sarcoplasmic protein synthesis in red and white muscles one day after hatching is almost identical. The red muscle shows a markedly higher rate of sarcoplasmic protein synthesis from 10 days after hatching. The incorporation of amino acid into various protein fractions of both the muscle types decreases with advancing age. In adult chicks red muscle displays a higher ability to synthesize sarcoplasmic and myofibrillar proteins.     

Pronounced alterations of cellular metabolism and structure due to hyper- or hypo-osmosis

Cell volume alteration represents an important factor contributing to the pathology of late-onset diseases. Previously, it was reported that protein biosynthesis and degradation are inversely (trans) regulated during cell volume regulation. Upon cell shrinkage, protein biosynthesis was up-regulated and protein degradation down-regulated. Cell swelling showed opposite regulation. Recent evidence suggests a decrease of protein biodegradation activity in many neurodegenerative diseases and even during aging; both also show prominent cell shrinkage. To clarify the effect of cell volume regulation on the overall protein turnover dynamics, we investigated mouse embryonic stem cells under hyper- and hypotonic osmotic conditions using a 2-D gel based proteomics approach. These conditions cause cell swelling and shrinkage, respectively. Our results demonstrate that the adaption to altered osmotic conditions and therefore cell volume alterations affects a broad spectrum of cellular pathways, including stress response, cytoskeleton remodeling and importantly, cellular metabolism and protein degradation. Interestingly, protein synthesis and degradation appears to be cis-regulated (same direction) on a global level. Our findings also support the hypothesis that protein alterations due to osmotic stress contribute to the pathology of neurodegenerative diseases due to a 60% expression overlap with proteins found altered in Alzheimer's, Huntington's, or Parkinson's disease. Eighteen percent of the proteins altered are even shared with all three disorders.     

Inhibition of Protein Synthesis Alters Protein Degradation through Activation of Protein Kinase B (AKT)

The homeostasis of protein metabolism is maintained and regulated by the rates of protein biosynthesis and degradation in living systems. Alterations of protein degradation may regulate protein biosynthesis through a feedback mechanism. Whether a change in protein biosynthesis modulates protein degradation has not been reported. In this study, we found that inhibition of protein biosynthesis induced phosphorylation/activation of AKT and led to phosphorylation of AKT target substrates, including FoxO1, GSK3α/β, p70S6K, AS160, and the E3 ubiquitin ligase MDM2. Phosphorylation of ribosomal protein S6 was also modulated by inhibition of protein biosynthesis. The AKT phosphorylation/activation was mediated mainly through the PI3K pathway because it was blocked by the PI3K inhibitor {"type":"entrez-nucleotide","attrs":{"text":"LY294002","term_id":"1257998346","term_text":"LY294002"}}LY294002. The activated AKT phosphorylated MDM2 at Ser¹⁶⁶ and promoted degradation of the tumor suppressor p53. These findings suggest that inhibition of protein biosynthesis can alter degradation of some proteins through activation of AKT. This study reveals a novel regulation of protein degradation and calls for caution in blocking protein biosynthesis to study the half-life of proteins.     

Chronic hypobaric hypoxia mediated skeletal muscle atrophy: role of ubiquitin–proteasome pathway and calpains

The most frequently reported symptom of exposure to high altitude is loss of body mass and decreased performance which has been attributed to altered protein metabolism affecting skeletal muscles mass. The present study explores the mechanism of chronic hypobaric hypoxia mediated skeletal muscle wasting by evaluating changes in protein turnover and various proteolytic pathways. Male Sprague-Dawley rats weighing about 200 g were exposed to hypobaric hypoxia (7,620 m) for different durations of exposure. Physical performance of rats was measured by treadmill running experiments. Protein synthesis, protein degradation rates were determined by (14)C-Leucine incorporation and tyrosine release, respectively. Chymotrypsin-like enzyme activity of the ubiquitin-proteasome pathway and calpains were studied fluorimetrically as well as using western blots. Declined physical performance by more than 20%, in terms of time taken in exhaustion on treadmill, following chronic hypobaric hypoxia was observed. Compared to 1.5-fold increase in protein synthesis, the increase in protein degradation was much higher (five-folds), which consequently resulted in skeletal muscle mass loss. Myofibrillar protein level declined from 46.79 ± 1.49 mg/g tissue at sea level to 37.36 ± 1.153 (P < 0.05) at high altitude. However, the reduction in sarcoplasmic proteins was less as compared to myofibrillar protein. Upregulation of Ub-proteasome pathway (five-fold over control) and calpains (three-fold) has been found to be important factors for the enhanced protein degradation rate. The study provided strong evidences suggesting that elevated protein turnover rate lead to skeletal muscle atrophy under chronic hypobaric hypoxia via ubiquitin-proteasome pathway and calpains.     

骨骼肌中肌浆网/内质网钙ATP酶的功能及其作用机制

骨骼肌是机体生命活动和能量代谢的重要场所,其代谢紊乱会诱发一系列肌肉疾病。Ca²⁺作为肌肉收缩过程的重要调节器,在骨骼肌的功能行使中发挥重要作用。骨骼肌细胞中Ca²⁺浓度主要受肌浆网/内质网钙ATP酶(sarcoplasmic/endoplasmic reticulum Ca²⁺ATPase, SERCA)的调节。SERCA利用ATP水解产生的能量介导胞质Ca²⁺进入肌浆网内腔,维持胞质Ca²⁺平衡。SERCA功能的失调会引发一系列骨骼肌疾病,而SERCA活性受部分肌浆网蛋白质的调控,跨膜蛋白质PLN、SLN、MRLN、DWORF和sAnk1以及胞质蛋白质THADA和SAR,其通过磷酸化,进而调控SERCA的功能。本文对骨骼肌中SERCA的功能、调控SERCA的相关功能蛋白质的结构及其作用机制进行了总结,以期为骨骼肌相关疾病的治疗提供最新的思路和方法。     

Acute and chronic signals controlling glucose transport in skeletal muscle.

Glucose transport into muscle cells occurs through facilitated diffusion mediated primarily by the GLUT1 and GLUT4 glucose transporters. These transporter proteins are controlled by acute and chronic exposure to insulin, glucose, muscle contraction, and hypoxia. We propose that acute responses occur through recruitment of pre-formed glucose transporters from an intracellular storage site to the plasma membrane. In contrast, chronic control is achieved by changes in transporter biosynthesis and protein stability. Using subcellular fractionation of rat skeletal muscle, recruitment of GLUT4 glucose transporters to the plasma membrane is demonstrated by acute exposure to insulin in vivo. The intracellular pool appears to arise from a unique organelle depleted of transverse tubule, plasma membrane, or sarcoplasmic reticulum markers. In diabetic rats, GLUT4 content in the plasma membranes and in the intracellular pool is reduced, and incomplete insulin-dependent GLUT4 recruitment is observed, possibly through a defective incorporation of transporters to the plasma membrane. The lower content of GLUT4 transporters in the muscle plasma membranes is reversed by restoration of normoglycemia with phlorizin treatment. In some muscle cells in culture, GLUT1 is the only transporter expressed yet they respond to insulin, suggesting that this transporter can also be regulated by acute mechanisms. In the L6 muscle cell line, GLUT1 transporter content diminishes during myogenesis and GLUT4 appears after cell fusion, reaching a molar ratio of about 1:1 in the plasma membrane. Prolonged exposure to high glucose diminishes the amount of GLUT1 protein in the plasma membrane by both endocytosis and reduced biosynthesis, and lowers GLUT4 protein content in the absence of changes in GLUT4 mRNA possibly through increased protein degradation. These studies suggest that the relative contribution of each transporter to transport activity, and the mechanisms by which glucose exerts control of the glucose transporters, will be key subjects of future investigations.     

Myofibrillar protein turnover. Synthesis rates of myofibrillar and sarcoplasmic protein fractions in different muscles and the changes observed during postnatal development and in response to feeding and starvation.

Measurement of rates of synthesis of skeletal-muscle proteins in adult rats shows that the faster overall rate of turnover in diaphragm and soleus muscles compared with several other, more glycolytic, muscles is also exhibited by the myofibrillar proteins, since the ratio of sarcoplasmic to myofibrillar protein synthesis is similar for all muscles. Further, throughout postnatal development, when the overall turnover rate falls with age, parallel changes occur for the myofibrillar proteins, as indicated by a constant ratio of sarcoplasmic to myofibrillar protein synthesis (2.06) in the steady state after overnight starvation. Only in the youngest (4 weeks old) rats is a slightly lower ratio observed (1.72). These results indicate that, when changes in the overall turnover rate of muscle proteins occur, the relative turnover of the two major protein fractions stays constant. However, measurements in the non-steady state during growth and after starvation for 4 days show that the relative synthesis rates of the two fractions change as a result of a disproportionate increase in myofibrillar protein synthesis during growth and decrease during starvation. Thus the synthesis rate of the slower-turning-over myofibrillar protein fraction is more sensitive to nutritional state than is that of the sarcoplasmic protein. It is suggested that such responses may help to maintain constant tissue composition during non-steady-state conditions of growth and atrophy.     

Analysis of excitation-contraction-coupling components in chronically stimulated canine skeletal muscle.

The chronic stimulation of predominantly fast-twitch mammalian skeletal muscle causes a transformation to physiological characteristics of slow-twitch skeletal muscle. Here, we report the effects of chronic stimulation on the protein components of the sarcoplasmic reticulum and transverse tubular membranes which are directly involved in excitation-contraction coupling. Comparison of protein composition of microsomal fractions from control and chronically stimulated muscle was performed by immunoblot analysis and also by staining with Coomassie blue or the cationic carbocyanine dye Stains-all. Consistent with previous experiments, a greatly reduced density was observed for the fast-twitch isozyme of Ca(2+)-ATPase, while the expression of the slow-twitch Ca(2+)-ATPase was found to be greatly enhanced. Components of the sarcolemma (Na+/K(+)-ATPase, dystrophin-glycoprotein complex) and the free sarcoplasmic reticulum (Ca(2+)-binding protein sarcalumenin and a 53-kDa glycoprotein) were not affected by chronic stimulation. The relative abundance of calsequestrin was slightly reduced in transformed skeletal muscle. However, the expression of the ryanodine receptor/Ca(Ca2+)-release channel from junctional sarcoplasmic reticulum and the transverse tubular dihydropyridine-sensitive Ca2+ channel, as well as two junctional sarcoplasmic reticulum proteins of 90 kDa and 94 kDa, was greatly suppressed in transformed muscle. Thus, the expression of the major protein components of the triad junction involved in excitation-contraction coupling is suppressed, while the expression of other muscle membrane proteins is not affected in chronically stimulated muscle.     

Changes in protein synthesis in rats in response to endurance training

Experiments were conducted to investigate the influence of endurance exercise training on protein synthesis in skeletal muscle, heart, and liver. Training decreased incorporation of [¹⁴C]-leucine into proteins of the stromal fraction of muscle but there was no change in amino acid incorporation into proteins of the sarcoplasmic and myofibrillar fractions. Incorporation of [¹⁴C]-leucine into the protein of heart, liver, and plasma was depressed in trained rats compared to untrained rats. The specific radioactivity of [¹⁴C]-leucine was similar in tissues of trained and untrained rats and thus the depressed amino acid incorporation represents a decrease in the rate of protein synthesis. These observations demonstrate that the adaptation of muscle protein metabolism to endurance training is quite different than the alterations during work-induced hypertrophy of muscle. The difference in adaptation probably relates to the functional differences between the types of exercise. However depression of protein synthesis in trained rats is a general effect in several tissues and not an effect localized in muscle tissue.     

Examination of the calcium-modulated protein S100 alpha and its target proteins in adult and developing skeletal muscle.

In this study radioimmunoassay, immunohistochemistry, Northern blot analysis, and a gel overlay technique have been used to examine the level, subcellular distribution, and potential target proteins of the S100 family of calcium-modulated proteins in adult and developing rat skeletal muscles. Adult rat muscles contained high levels of S100 proteins but the particular form present was dependent on the muscle type: cardiac muscle contained exclusively S100 alpha, slow-twitch skeletal muscle fibers contained predominantly S100 alpha, vascular smooth muscle contained both S100 alpha and S100 beta, and fast-twitch skeletal muscle fibers contained low but detectable levels of S100 alpha and S100 beta. While the distribution of S100 mRNAs paralled the protein distribution in all muscles there was no direct correlation between the mRNA and protein levels in different muscle types, suggesting that S100 protein expression is differentially regulated in different muscle types. Immunohistochemical analysis of the cellular distribution of S100 proteins in adult skeletal muscles revealed that S100 alpha staining was associated with muscle cells, while S100 beta staining was associated with nonmuscle cells. Radioimmunoassays of developing rat skeletal muscles demonstrated that all developing muscles contained low levels of S100 alpha at postnatal day 1 and that as development proceeded the S100 alpha levels increased. In contrast to adult muscle S100 alpha expression was confined to fast-twitch fibers in developing skeletal muscle until postnatal day 21. At postnatal day 1, developing contractile elements were S100 alpha positive, but no staining periodicity was detectable. At postnatal day 21, S100 alpha exhibited the same subcellular localization as seen in the adult: colocalization with the A-band and/or longitudinal sarcoplasmic reticulum. Comparison of the S100 alpha-binding protein profiles in fast- and slow-twitch fibers of various species revealed few, if any, species- or fiber type-specific S100 binding proteins. Isolated sarcoplasmic reticulum fractions and myofibrils contained multiple S100 alpha-binding proteins. The colocalization of S100 alpha and S100 alpha-binding proteins with the contractile apparatus and sarcoplasmic reticulum suggest that S100 alpha may regulate excitation and/or contraction in slow-twitch fibers.     

Characterization of muscle sarcoplasmic and myofibrillar protein hydrolysis caused by Lactobacillus plantarum.

Strains of Lactobacillus plantarum originally isolated from sausages were screened for proteinase and aminopeptidase activities toward synthetic substrates; on the basis of that screening, L. plantarum CRL 681 was selected for further assays on muscle proteins. The activities of whole cells, cell extracts (CE), and a combination of both on sarcoplasmic and myofibrillar protein extracts were determined by protein, peptide, and free-amino-acid analyses. Proteinase from whole cells initiated the hydrolysis of sarcoplasmic proteins. The addition of CE intensified the proteolysis. Whole cells generated hydrophilic peptides from both sarcoplasmic and myofibrillar proteins. Other peptides of a hydrophobic nature resulted from the combination of whole cells and CE. The action of both enzymatic sources on myofibrillar proteins caused maximal increases in lysine, arginine, and leucine, while the action of those on sarcoplasmic proteins mainly released alanine. In general, pronounced hydrolysis of muscle proteins required enzyme activities from whole cells in addition to those supplied by CE.