Search

Our aim in the current study was to determine the necessity of satellite cells for long-term muscle growth and maintenance. We utilized a transgenic Pax7-DTA mouse model, allowing for the conditional depletion of > 90% of satellite cells with tamoxifen treatment. Synergist ablation surgery, where removal of synergist muscles places functional overload on the plantaris, was used to stimulate robust hypertrophy. Following 8 wk of overload, satellite celldepleted muscle demonstrated an accumulation of extracellular matrix (ECM) and fibroblast expansion that resulted in reduced specific force of the plantaris. Although the early growth response was normal, an attenuation of hypertrophy measured by both muscle wet weight and fiber cross-sectional area occurred in satellite cell-depleted muscle. Isolated primary myogenic progenitor cells (MPCs) negatively regulated fibroblast ECM mRNA expression in vitro, suggesting a novel role for activated satellite cells/MPCs in muscle adaptation. These results provide evidence that satellite cells regulate the muscle environment during growth.--Fry, C. S., Lee, J. D., Jackson, J. R., Kirby, T. J., Stasko, S. A., Liu, H., Dupont-Versteegden, E. E., McCarthy, J. J., Peterson, C. A. Regulation of the muscle fiber microenvironment by activated satellite cells during hypertrophy. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In adult skeletal muscles, satellite cells are the primary myogenic stem cells involved in myogenesis. Normally, they remain in a quiescent state until activated by a stimulus, after which they proliferate, differentiate, and fuse into an existing myofiber or form a de novo myofiber. To study satellite cell dynamics in adult murine models, most studies utilize regeneration models in which the muscle is severely damaged and requires the participation from satellite cells in order to repair. Here, we describe a model to study satellite cell behavior in muscle hypertrophy that is independent of muscle regeneration.Synergist ablation surgery involves the surgical removal of the gastrocnemius and soleus muscles resulting in functional overload of the remaining plantaris muscle. This functional overload results in myofiber hypertrophy, as well as the activation, proliferation, and fusion of satellite cells into the myofibers. Within 2 weeks of functional overload, satellite cell content increases approximately 275 %, an increase that is accompanied with a ~60 % increase in the number of myonuclei. Therefore, this can be used as an alternative model to study satellite cell behavior in adulthood that is different from regeneration, and capable of revealing new satellite cell functions in regulating muscle adaptation.

Over the last decade non-coding RNAs have emerged as importance regulators of gene expression. In particular, microRNAs are a class of small RNAs of ∼ 22 nucleotides that repress gene expression through a post-transcriptional mechanism. MicroRNAs have been shown to be involved in a broader range of biological processes, both physiological and pathological, including myogenesis, adaptation to exercise and various myopathies. The purpose of this review is to provide a comprehensive summary of what is currently known about the role of microRNAs in skeletal muscle health and disease.

Resident muscle stem cells, known as satellite cells, are thought to be the main mediators of skeletal muscle plasticity. Satellite cells are activated, replicate, and fuse into existing muscle fibers in response to both muscle injury and mechanical load. It is generally well-accepted that satellite cells participate in postnatal growth, hypertrophy, and muscle regeneration following injury; however, their role in muscle regrowth following an atrophic stimulus remains equivocal. The current study employed a genetic mouse model (Pax7-DTA) that allowed for the effective depletion of >90% of satellite cells in adult muscle upon the administration of tamoxifen. Vehicle and tamoxifen-treated young adult female mice were either hindlimb suspended for 14 days to induce muscle atrophy or hindlimb suspended for 14 days followed by 14 days of reloading to allow regrowth, or they remained ambulatory for the duration of the experimental protocol. Additionally, 5-bromo-2'-deoxyuridine (BrdU) was added to the drinking water to track cell proliferation. Soleus muscle atrophy, as measured by whole muscle wet weight, fiber cross-sectional area, and single-fiber width, occurred in response to suspension and did not differ between satellite cell-depleted and control muscles. Furthermore, the depletion of satellite cells did not attenuate muscle mass or force recovery during the 14-day reloading period, suggesting that satellite cells are not required for muscle regrowth. Myonuclear number was not altered during either the suspension or the reloading period in soleus muscle fibers from vehicle-treated or satellite cell-depleted animals. Thus, myonuclear domain size was reduced following suspension due to decreased cytoplasmic volume and was completely restored following reloading, independent of the presence of satellite cells. These results provide convincing evidence that satellite cells are not required for muscle regrowth following atrophy and that, instead, the myonuclear domain size changes as myofibers adapt.