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In people without lower extremity peripheral artery disease (PAD), mitochondrial DNA copy number declines with aging, and this decline is associated with declines in mitochondrial activity and functional performance. However, whether lower extremity ischemia is associated with lower mitochondrial DNA copy number and whether mitochondrial DNA copy number is associated with the degree of functional impairment in people with PAD is unknown. In people with and without PAD, age 65 years and older, we studied associations of the ankle--brachial index (ABI) with mitochondrial DNA copy number and associations of mitochondrial DNA copy number with functional impairment. Calf muscle biopsies were obtained from 34 participants with PAD (mean age: 73.5 years (SD 6.4), mean ABI: 0.67 (SD 0.15), mean 6-minute walk distance: 1191 feet (SD 223)) and 10 controls without PAD (mean age: 73.1 years (SD 4.7), mean ABI: 1.14 (SD 0.07), mean 6-minute walk distance: 1387 feet (SD 488)). Adjusting for age and sex, lower ABI values were associated with higher mitochondrial DNA copy number, measured in relative copy number (ABI<0.60: 914, ABI 0.60-0.90: 731, ABI 0.90-1.50: 593; p trend=0.016). The association of mitochondrial DNA copy number with the 6-minute walk distance and 4-meter walking velocity differed significantly between participants with versus without PAD (p-value for interaction=0.001 and p=0.015, respectively). The correlation coefficient between mitochondrial DNA copy number and the 6-minute walk distance was 0.653 (p=0.056) among people without PAD and -0.254 (p=0.154) among people with PAD and ABI < 0.90. In conclusion, lower ABI values are associated with increased mitochondrial DNA copy number. Associations of mitochondrial DNA copy number with the 6-minute walk distance and 4-meter walking velocity significantly differed between people with versus without PAD, with stronger positive associations observed in people without PAD than in people with PAD. The cross-sectional and exploratory nature of the analyses precludes conclusions regarding causal inferences. ClinicalTrials.gov Identifier: NCT02246660 [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Dramatic advances in understanding mechanisms of aging have recently been made in model systems. Interventions have been devised that successfully enhance survival. Major issues still in need of resolution include whether these interventions not only increase survival but also enhance function, delay frailty, and can be translated into clinical application. It seems there are basic biologic findings close to being ready for translation. However, a number of barriers exist to translating these findings into realistic clinical interventions. Steps and resources needed include measuring not only survival but also impact of interventions on age-related disability, frailty, and onset of disease in model systems; development of clinically relevant measures of disability, frailty, and disease for each animal model and genetically tractable animal models of frailty; training and career-long funding mechanisms for geriatricians in basic science research and for basic scientists in geriatric issues; translationally capable review and funding mechanisms; emphasis on studies of interventions that can be initiated in later life for preventing or reversing disability; genetic association studies in humans to identify new candidate genes and pathways that correlate with disability, frailty, and age-related disease onset as well as longevity; study of exposure to environmental agents or toxins early in life on survival, disability, frailty, and disease in later life. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Examines two aspects of muscle cell phenotype that may be affected by aging, primary myoblast cultures as well as established myoblast cell lines. Information on satellite cell replicative potential, satellite cell gene expression and satellite cell differentiation; Total replicative capacity of individual myoblasts from different aged donors; Discussion of the usefulness of the two in vitro systems in addressing fundamental molecular mechanisms of muscle aging.

Recent investigations have provided significant evidence that many mesodermally derived tissues contain stem cell-like precursors capable of being stimulated to undergo differentiation into a variety of cellular lineages. We have recently reported that primary myoblasts isolated from 23-month-old mice have an increased adipogenic potential when compared to their 8-month-old counterparts. To further characterize the degree of adipocyte differentiation in these myoblasts, we examined early and late markers of adipocyte differentiation. Within the first 24 h of adipocyte differentiation, expression of p130 and p107, two members of the retinoblastoma tumor suppressor gene family, are regulated and this event is an important one early in adipogenesis. Consistent with the increased adipogenic potential of the older myoblasts and in contrast to the younger cells, the p130:p107 pattern of expression is very similar to that observed in adipogenesis where there is a transient increase in p107 expression accompanied by a decrease in p130 expression. Interestingly, while these older cells accumulated lipid and expressed genes associated with lipid metabolism, they failed to express adipsin and leptin, two well-established markers of terminal adipocyte differentiation. These results suggest that older myoblasts are capable of initiating and progressing through the adipogenic program to a point where they express genes associated with lipid metabolism, but do not reach a terminally differentiated state. This finding may have important metabolic implications in the aging population. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]

To date, studies that have aimed to investigate the role of satellite cells during adult skeletal muscle adaptation and hypertrophy have utilized a nontranslational stimulus and/or have been performed over a relatively short time frame. Although it has been shown that satellite cell depletion throughout adulthood does not drive skeletal muscle loss in sedentary mice, it remains unknown how satellite cells participate in skeletal muscle adaptation to long-term physical activity. The current study was designed to determine whether reduced satellite cell content throughout adulthood would influence the transcriptome-wide response to physical activity and diminish the adaptive response of skeletal muscle. We administered vehicle or tamoxifen to adult Pax7-diphtheria toxin A (DTA) mice to deplete satellite cells and assigned them to sedentary or wheel-running conditions for 13 mo. Satellite cell depletion throughout adulthood reduced balance and coordination, overall running volume, and the size of muscle proprioceptors (spindle fibers). Furthermore, satellite cell participation was necessary for optimal muscle fiber hypertrophy but not adaptations in fiber type distribution in response to lifelong physical activity. Transcriptome-wide analysis of the plantaris and soleus revealed that satellite cell function is muscle type specific; satellite cell-dependent myonuclear accretion was apparent in oxidative muscles, whereas initiation of G protein-coupled receptor (GPCR) signaling in the glycolytic plantaris may require satellite cells to induce optimal adaptations to long-term physical activity. These findings suggest that satellite cells play a role in preserving physical function during aging and influence muscle adaptation during sustained periods of physical activity. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: Muscle mass and strength are strong determinants of a person's quality of life and functional independence with advancing age. While resistance training is the most effective intervention to combat age-associated muscle atrophy (sarcopenia), the ability of older adults to increase muscle mass and strength in response to training is blunted and highly variable. Thus, finding novel ways to complement resistance training to improve muscle response and ultimately quality of life among older individuals is critical. The purpose of this study is to determine whether a commonly prescribed medication called metformin can be repurposed to improve the response to resistance exercise training by altering the muscle tissue inflammatory environment.Methods/design: Individuals aged 65 and older are participating in a two-site, randomized, double-blind, placebo-controlled trial testing the effects of metformin or placebo on muscle size, strength, and physical function when combined with a progressive resistance training program. Participants consume 1700 mg of metformin per day or placebo for 2 weeks before engaging in a 14-week progressive resistance training regimen, with continued metformin or placebo. Participants are then monitored post-training to determine if the group taking metformin derived greater overall benefit from training in terms of muscle mass and strength gains than those on placebo. Muscle biopsies are taken from the vastus lateralis at three time points to assess individual cellular and molecular adaptations to resistance training and also changes in response to metformin.Discussion: The response of aged muscles to a resistance training program does not always result in a positive outcome; some individuals even experience a loss in muscle mass following resistance training. Thus, adjuvant therapies, including pharmacological ones, are required to optimize response to training in those who do not respond and may be at increased risk of frailty. This is the first known metformin repurposing trial in non-diseased individuals, aimed specifically at the resistance exercise "non-responder" phenotype present in the aging population. The overall goal of this trial is to determine if combined exercise-metformin intervention therapy will benefit older individuals by promoting muscle hypertrophy and strength gains, thereby maintaining functional independence.Trial Registration: ClinicalTrials.gov, NCT02308228 . Registered on 25 November 2014. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: Immune function may influence the ability of older adults to maintain or improve muscle mass, strength, and function during aging. Thus, nutritional supplementation that supports the immune system could complement resistance exercise as an intervention for age-associated muscle loss. The current study will determine the relationship between immune function and exercise training outcomes for older adults who consume a nutritional supplement or placebo during resistance training and post-training follow-up. The supplement was chosen due to evidence suggesting its ingredients [arginine (Arg), glutamine (Gln), and β-hydroxy β-methylbutyrate (HMB)] can improve immune function, promote muscle growth, and counteract muscle loss. Methods/design: Veterans (age 60 to 80 yrs, N = 50) of the United States military will participate in a randomized double-blind placebo-controlled trial of consumption of a nutritional supplement or placebo during completion of three study objectives: 1) determine if 2 weeks of supplementation improve immune function measured as the response to vaccination and systemic and cellular responses to acute resistance exercise; 2) determine if supplementation during 36 sessions of resistance training boosts gains in muscle size, strength, and function; and 3) determine if continued supplementation for 26 weeks post-training promotes retention of training-induced gains in muscle size, strength, and function. Analyses of the results for these objectives will determine the relationship between immune function and the training outcomes. Participants will undergo nine blood draws and five muscle (vastus lateralis) biopsies so that the effects of the supplement on immune function and the systemic and cellular responses to exercise can be measured. Discussion: Exercise has known effects on immune function. However, the study will attempt to modulate immune function using a nutritional supplement and determine the effects on training outcomes. The study will also examine post-training benefit retention, an important issue for older adults, usually omitted from exercise studies. The study will potentially advance our understanding of the mechanisms of muscle gain and loss in older adults, but more importantly, a nutritional intervention will be evaluated as a complement to exercise for supporting muscle health during aging. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Dupont-Versteegden EE, Nagarajan R, Beggs ML, Bearden ED, Simpson PM, Peterson CA. Identification of cold-shock protein RBM3 as a possible regulator of skeletal muscle size through expression profiling. Am J Physiol Regul Integr Comp Physiol 295: R1263-R1273, 2008. First published August 27, 2008; doi:l0.l l52lajpregu.90455.2008.Changes in gene expression associated with skeletal muscle atrophy due to aging are distinct from those due to disuse, suggesting that the response of old muscle to inactivity may be altered. The goal of this study was to identify changes in muscle gene expression that may contribute to loss of adaptability of old muscle. Muscle atrophy was induced in young adult (6-mo) and old (32-mo) male Brown Norway! F344 rats by 2 wk of hindlimb suspension (HS), and soleus muscles were analyzed by cDNA microarrays. Overall, similar changes in gene expression with HS were observed in young and old muscles for genes encoding proteins involved in protein folding (heat shock proteins), muscle structure, and contraction, extracellular matrix, and nucleic acid binding. More genes encoding transport and receptor proteins were differentially expressed in the soleus muscle from young rats, while in soleus muscle from old rats more genes that encoded ribosomal proteins were upregulated. The gene encoding the cold-shock protein RNA-binding motif protein-3 (RBM3) was induced most highly with HS in muscle from old rats, verified by real-time RT-PCR, while no difference with age was observed. The cold-inducible RNA-binding protein (Cirp) gene was also overexpressed with HS, whereas cold-shock protein Y-box-binding protein-I was not. A time course analysis of RBM3 mRNA abundance during HS showed that upregulation occurred after apoptotic nuclei and markers of protein degradation increased. We conclude that a coldshock response may be part of a compensatory mechanism in muscles undergoing atrophy to preserve remaining muscle mass and that RBM3 may be a therapeutic target to prevent muscle loss. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

We report an age-dependent increase in nonimmunohematopoietic cells (CD45neg) in regenerating muscle characterized by high stem-cell antigen (Sca-1) expression. In aged regenerating muscle, only 14% of these CD45neg Sca-1pos cells express MyoD, whereas 82% of CD45negSca-1pos cells are MyoDpos in young adult muscle. In vitro, CD45negMyoDnegSca-1pos cells overexpress fibrosis-promoting genes, potentially controlled by Wnt2. The cells are proliferative, nonmyogenic, and nonadipogenic, and arise in clonally derived myoblast cultures from aged mice. MyoDneg Sca-1pos nonmyogenic cells also emerge in C2C12 myoblast cultures at late passage. Both in vitro and in vivo studies suggest that MyoDnegSca-1pos cells from aged muscle are more susceptible to apoptosis than myoblasts, which may contribute to depletion of the satellite cell pool. Thus, with age, a subset of myoblasts takes on an altered phenotype, which is marked by high Sca-1 expression. These cells do not participate in muscle regeneration, and instead may contribute to muscle fibrosis in aged muscle. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Abstract: Macrophages are involved in skeletal muscle repair through pro-inflammatory and alternative functions. We tested the hypothesis that aging alters the abundance and properties of skeletal muscle macrophages that will influence their functional response to acute resistance exercise. Total macrophages (CD68+), as well as pro- (CD11b+) and anti-inflammatory (CD163+) subpopulations and associated cytokine mRNAs were quantified in vastus lateralis biopsies from young (N=17) and elderly (N=17) males pre- and 72h post-exercise. Pre-exercise, young muscle tended to possess a greater number of macrophages, whereas elderly muscle possessed higher levels of IL-1β (P=0.001), IL-1RA (P=0.003), and IL-10 (P=0.028). Post-exercise, total macrophages did not change in either group, however, the number of CD11b+ (P=0.039) and CD163+ (P=0.026) cells increased 55 and 29%, respectively, but only in the young. IL-1β (P=0.006), IL-10 (P=0.016), and AMAC-1 (P=0.044) also increased, approximately two-fold, and again only in the young. Quantitation of CD11b+ and CD163+ cells suggests that the majority of resident macrophages possess alternative functions, and a small subpopulation participates in the inflammatory response. Both subpopulations increased their activity post-exercise, exclusively in the young. These findings suggest that aging results in a defective regulation of muscle macrophage function, both at baseline and in response to resistance exercise, that may limit muscle hypertrophy in older adults. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]

Myogenic progenitors in adult muscle are necessary for the repair, maintenance and hypertrophy of post-mitotic muscle fibers. With age, fat deposition and fibrosis contribute to the decline in the integrity and functional capacity of muscles. In a previous study we reported increased accumulation of lipid in myogenic progenitors obtained from aged mice, accompanied by an up-regulation of genes involved in adipogenic differentiation. The present study was designed to extend our understanding of how aging affects the fate and gene expression profile of myogenic progenitors. Affymetrix murine U74 Genechip analysis was performed using RNA extracted from myogenic progenitors isolated from adult (8-month-old) and aged (24-month-old) DBA/2JNIA mice. The cells from the aged animals exhibited major alterations in the expression level of many genes directly or indirectly involved with the TGFβ signaling pathway. Our data indicate that with age, myogenic progenitors acquire the paradoxical phenotype of being both TGFβ activated based on overexpression of TGFβ-inducible genes, but resistant to the differentiation-inhibiting effects of exogenous TGFβ. The overexpression of TGFβ-regulated genes, such as connective tissue growth factor, may play a role in increasing fibrosis in aging muscle. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Progressive resistance exercise training (PRT) is the most effective known intervention for combating aging skeletal muscle atrophy. However, the hypertrophic response to PRT is variable, and this may be due to muscle inflammation susceptibility. Metformin reduces inflammation, so we hypothesized that metformin would augment the muscle response to PRT in healthy women and men aged 65 and older. In a randomized, double‐blind trial, participants received 1,700 mg/day metformin (N = 46) or placebo (N = 48) throughout the study, and all subjects performed 14 weeks of supervised PRT. Although responses to PRT varied, placebo gained more lean body mass (p = .003) and thigh muscle mass (p < .001) than metformin. CT scan showed that increases in thigh muscle area (p = .005) and density (p = .020) were greater in placebo versus metformin. There was a trend for blunted strength gains in metformin that did not reach statistical significance. Analyses of vastus lateralis muscle biopsies showed that metformin did not affect fiber hypertrophy, or increases in satellite cell or macrophage abundance with PRT. However, placebo had decreased type I fiber percentage while metformin did not (p = .007). Metformin led to an increase in AMPK signaling, and a trend for blunted increases in mTORC1 signaling in response to PRT. These results underscore the benefits of PRT in older adults, but metformin negatively impacts the hypertrophic response to resistance training in healthy older individuals. ClinicalTrials.gov Identifier: NCT02308228. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Resistance exercise (RE) induces a cytokine response in muscle that is involved with repair and possibly adaptive processes that may be impaired by aging. Specifically, median IL-1β mRNA levels were elevated 72 hrs post-RE in v. lateralis from young (Y), but not elderly (E) males. The lack of a response in the E appeared due to chronic elevation of IL-1β (Exp Gerontol 41:3, 320-327). Under these circumstances, IL-1β was hypothesized to control genes expressed in the myofiber that are relevant to growth and atrophy. To identify candidate genes, 100 mRNAs were screened using a custom real-time PCR method of which 15 were chosen and quantified for Y (N=15, 31.7 ± 7.4 yrs) and E (N=16, 71.6 ± 4.6) pre- and post-RE. Between groups, the Y possessed greater (1.6 to 4.4-fold) IGF1, CNTF, MMP2, and IGFBP5 at both time points. Of these, MMP2 was the only one responsive to exercise and this 1.5-fold increase was exclusive to the E. Other mRNAs responded to exercise in both Y and E but the magnitudes and significances were greater for Y. In the Y, TIMP1 and ACTC1 increased 2-fold and 6.5-fold, whereas GDF8 decreased 50%. In the E, TIMP1 and ACTC1 expression only increased 1.2-fold and 2.9-fold, whereas GDF8 decreased 40%. Work is underway to determine the cellular source, response to IL-1β, and functional significance to aging and RE for these factors in muscle. Stated differences were significant at P<0.05. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]