1. |
- Correia, Jorge C., et al.
(author)
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Muscle-secreted neurturin couples myofiber oxidative metabolism and slow motor neuron identity
- 2021
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In: Cell Metabolism. - : Elsevier BV. - 1550-4131 .- 1932-7420. ; 33:11, s. 2215-2230
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Journal article (peer-reviewed)abstract
- Endurance exercise promotes skeletal muscle vascularization, oxidative metabolism, fiber-type switching, and neuromuscular junction integrity. Importantly, the metabolic and contractile properties of the muscle fiber must be coupled to the identity of the innervating motor neuron (MN). Here, we show that muscle-derived neurturin (NRTN) acts on muscle fibers and MNs to couple their characteristics. Using a muscle-specific NRTN transgenic mouse (HSA-NRTN) and RNA sequencing of MN somas, we observed that retrograde NRTN signaling promotes a shift toward a slow MN identity. In muscle, NRTN increased capillary density and oxidative capacity and induced a transcriptional reprograming favoring fatty acid metabolism over glycolysis. This combination of effects on muscle and MNs makes HSA-NRTN mice lean with remarkable exercise performance and motor coordination. Interestingly, HSA-NRTN mice largely recapitulate the phenotype of mice with muscle-specific expression of its upstream regulator PGC-1a1. This work identifies NRTN as a myokine that couples muscle oxidative capacity to slow MN identity.
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2. |
- Ferreira, Duarte M. S., et al.
(author)
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LIM and cysteine-rich domains 1 (LMCD1) regulates skeletal muscle hypertrophy, calcium handling, and force
- 2019
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In: Skeletal Muscle. - : BioMed Central. - 2044-5040. ; 9:1
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Journal article (peer-reviewed)abstract
- Background: Skeletal muscle mass and strength are crucial determinants of health. Muscle mass loss is associated with weakness, fatigue, and insulin resistance. In fact, it is predicted that controlling muscle atrophy can reduce morbidity and mortality associated with diseases such as cancer cachexia and sarcopenia.Methods: We analyzed gene expression data from muscle of mice or human patients with diverse muscle pathologies and identified LMCD1 as a gene strongly associated with skeletal muscle function. We transiently expressed or silenced LMCD1 in mouse gastrocnemius muscle or in mouse primary muscle cells and determined muscle/cell size, targeted gene expression, kinase activity with kinase arrays, protein immunoblotting, and protein synthesis levels. To evaluate force, calcium handling, and fatigue, we transduced the flexor digitorum brevis muscle with a LMCD1-expressing adenovirus and measured specific force and sarcoplasmic reticulum Ca2+ release in individual fibers. Finally, to explore the relationship between LMCD1 and calcineurin, we ectopically expressed Lmcd1 in the gastrocnemius muscle and treated those mice with cyclosporine A (calcineurin inhibitor). In addition, we used a luciferase reporter construct containing the myoregulin gene promoter to confirm the role of a LMCD1-calcineurin-myoregulin axis in skeletal muscle mass control and calcium handling.Results: Here, we identify LIM and cysteine-rich domains 1 (LMCD1) as a positive regulator of muscle mass, that increases muscle protein synthesis and fiber size. LMCD1 expression in vivo was sufficient to increase specific force with lower requirement for calcium handling and to reduce muscle fatigue. Conversely, silencing LMCD1 expression impairs calcium handling and force, and induces muscle fatigue without overt atrophy. The actions of LMCD1 were dependent on calcineurin, as its inhibition using cyclosporine A reverted the observed hypertrophic phenotype. Finally, we determined that LMCD1 represses the expression of myoregulin, a known negative regulator of muscle performance. Interestingly, we observed that skeletal muscle LMCD1 expression is reduced in patients with skeletal muscle disease.Conclusions: Our gain- and loss-of-function studies show that LMCD1 controls protein synthesis, muscle fiber size, specific force, Ca2+ handling, and fatigue resistance. This work uncovers a novel role for LMCD1 in the regulation of skeletal muscle mass and function with potential therapeutic implications.
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3. |
- Moberg, Marcus, 1986-, et al.
(author)
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High-intensity leg cycling alters the molecular response to resistance exercise in the arm muscles.
- 2021
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In: Scientific Reports. - : Nature Publishing Group. - 2045-2322. ; 11:1
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Journal article (peer-reviewed)abstract
- This study examined acute molecular responses to concurrent exercise involving different muscles. Eight men participated in a randomized crossover-trial with two sessions, one where they performed interval cycling followed by upper body resistance exercise (ER-Arm), and one with upper body resistance exercise only (R-Arm). Biopsies were taken from the triceps prior to and immediately, 90- and 180-min following exercise. Immediately after resistance exercise, the elevation in S6K1 activity was smaller and the 4E-BP1:eIF4E interaction greater in ER-Arm, but this acute attenuation disappeared during recovery. The protein synthetic rate in triceps was greater following exercise than at rest, with no difference between trials. The level of PGC-1α1 mRNA increased to greater extent in ER-Arm than R-Arm after 90 min of recovery, as was PGC-1α4 mRNA after both 90 and 180 min. Levels of MuRF-1 mRNA was unchanged in R-Arm, but elevated during recovery in ER-Arm, whereas MAFbx mRNA levels increased slightly in both trials. RNA sequencing in a subgroup of subjects revealed 862 differently expressed genes with ER-Arm versus R-Arm during recovery. These findings suggest that leg cycling prior to arm resistance exercise causes systemic changes that potentiate induction of specific genes in the triceps, without compromising the anabolic response.
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4. |
- Schijven, Dick, et al.
(author)
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Large-scale analysis of structural brain asymmetries in schizophrenia via the ENIGMA consortium
- 2023
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In: Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the United States of America. - : Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences (PNAS). - 0027-8424 .- 1091-6490. ; 120:14
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Journal article (peer-reviewed)abstract
- Left-right asymmetry is an important organizing feature of the healthy brain that may be altered in schizophrenia, but most studies have used relatively small samples and heterogeneous approaches, resulting in equivocal findings. We carried out the largest case-control study of structural brain asymmetries in schizophrenia, with MRI data from 5,080 affected individuals and 6,015 controls across 46 datasets, using a single image analysis protocol. Asymmetry indexes were calculated for global and regional cortical thickness, surface area, and subcortical volume measures. Differences of asymmetry were calculated between affected individuals and controls per dataset, and effect sizes were meta-analyzed across datasets. Small average case-control differences were observed for thickness asymmetries of the rostral anterior cingulate and the middle temporal gyrus, both driven by thinner left-hemispheric cortices in schizophrenia. Analyses of these asymmetries with respect to the use of antipsychotic medication and other clinical variables did not show any significant associations. Assessment of age- and sex-specific effects revealed a stronger average leftward asymmetry of pallidum volume between older cases and controls. Case-control differences in a multivariate context were assessed in a subset of the data (N = 2,029), which revealed that 7% of the variance across all structural asymmetries was explained by case-control status. Subtle case-control differences of brain macrostructural asymmetry may reflect differences at the molecular, cytoarchitectonic, or circuit levels that have functional relevance for the disorder. Reduced left middle temporal cortical thickness is consistent with altered left-hemisphere language network organization in schizophrenia.
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5. |
- Valente-Silva, Paula, et al.
(author)
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Effects of Tryptophan Supplementation and Exercise on the Fate of Kynurenine Metabolites in Mice and Humans.
- 2021
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In: Metabolites. - : MDPI AG. - 2218-1989 .- 2218-1989. ; 11:8
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Journal article (peer-reviewed)abstract
- The kynurenine pathway of tryptophan (TRP) degradation (KP) generates metabolites with effects on metabolism, immunity, and mental health. Endurance exercise training can change KP metabolites by changing the levels of KP enzymes in skeletal muscle. This leads to a metabolite pattern that favors energy expenditure and an anti-inflammatory immune cell profile and reduces neurotoxic metabolites. Here, we aimed to understand if TRP supplementation in untrained vs. trained subjects affects KP metabolite levels and biological effects. Our data show that chronic TRP supplementation in mice increases all KP metabolites in circulation, and that exercise reduces the neurotoxic branch of the pathway. However, in addition to increasing wheel running, we did not observe other effects of TRP supplementation on training adaptations, energy metabolism or behavior in mice. A similar increase in KP metabolites was seen in trained vs. untrained human volunteers that took a TRP drink while performing a bout of aerobic exercise. With this acute TRP administration, TRP and KYN were higher in the trained vs. the untrained group. Considering the many biological effects of the KP, which can lead to beneficial or deleterious effects to health, our data encourage future studies of the crosstalk between TRP supplementation and physical exercise.
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