MyoVision: software for automated high-content analysis of skeletal muscle immunohistochemistry

Muscle transcriptional networks linked to resistance exercise training hypertrophic response heterogeneity

The skeletal muscle hypertrophic response to resistance exercise training (RT) is highly variable across individuals. The molecular underpinnings of this heterogeneity are unclear. This study investigated transcriptional networks linked to RT-induced muscle hypertrophy, classified as 1) predictive of hypertrophy, 2) responsive to RT independent of muscle hypertrophy, or 3) plastic with hypertrophy. Older adults (n = 31, 18 F/13 M, 70 ± 4 yr) underwent 14-wk RT (3 days/wk, alternating high-low-high intensity). Muscle hypertrophy was assessed by pre- to post-RT change in mid-thigh muscle cross-sectional area (CSA) [computed tomography (CT), primary outcome] and thigh lean mass [dual-energy X-ray absorptiometry (DXA), secondary outcome]. Transcriptome-wide poly-A RNA-seq was performed on vastus lateralis tissue collected pre- (n = 31) and post-RT (n = 22). Prediction networks (using only baseline RNA-seq) were identified by weighted gene correlation network analysis (WGCNA). To identify Plasticity networks, WGCNA change indices for paired samples were calculated and correlated to changes in muscle size outcomes. Pathway-level information extractor (PLIER) was applied to identify Response networks and link genes to biological annotation. Prediction networks (n = 6) confirmed transcripts previously connected to resistance/aerobic training adaptations in the MetaMEx database while revealing novel member genes that should fuel future research to understand the influence of baseline muscle gene expression on hypertrophy. Response networks (n = 6) indicated RT-induced increase in aerobic metabolism and reduced expression of genes associated with spliceosome biology and type-I myofibers. A single exploratory Plasticity network was identified. Findings support that interindividual differences in baseline gene expression may contribute more than RT-induced changes in gene networks to muscle hypertrophic response heterogeneity. Code/Data: https://github.com/kallavin/MASTERS_manuscript/tree/master.

Muscle from aged rats is resistant to mechanotherapy during atrophy and reloading

Massage is a viable mechanotherapy to improve protein turnover during disuse atrophy and improve muscle regrowth during recovery from disuse atrophy in adult muscle. Therefore, we investigated whether massage can cause beneficial adaptations in skeletal muscle from aged rats during normal weight-bearing (WB) conditions, hindlimb suspension (HS), or reloading (RE) following HS. Aged (30 months) male Fischer 344/Brown Norway rats were divided into two experiments: (1) WB for 7 days (WB, n = 8), WB with massage (WBM, n = 8), HS for 7 days (HS7, n = 8), or HS with massage (HSM, n = 8), and (2) WB for 14 days (WB14, n = 8), HS for 14 days (HS14, n = 8), reloading (RE, n = 10), or reloading with massage (REM, n = 10) for 7 days following HS. Deuterium oxide (D2O) labeling was used to assess dynamic protein and ribosome turnover in each group and anabolic signaling pathways were assessed. Massage did have an anabolic benefit during RE or WB. In contrast, massage during HS enhanced myofibrillar protein turnover in both the massaged limb and contralateral non-massaged limb compared with HS, but this did not prevent muscle loss. Overall, the data demonstrate that massage is not an effective mechanotherapy for prevention of atrophy during muscle disuse or recovery of muscle mass during reloading in aged rats.

Associations of muscle lipid content with physical function and resistance training outcomes in older adults: altered responses with metformin

Preserving muscle mass and strength is critical for long-term health and longevity. Age-related muscle lipid accumulation has been shown to be detrimental to muscle health. In healthy older individuals, we sought to determine whether muscle lipid content, determined from computed tomography, is associated with self-reported physical function, laboratory-measured performance, and the response to progressive resistance training (PRT), and how metformin may alter these responses (N = 46 placebo, 48 metformin). Using multiple linear regression models adjusted for confounders in a large cohort, we show that intermuscular adipose tissue (IMAT) was not associated with baseline function or response to PRT, contrary to previous reports. On the other hand, thigh muscle density (TMD), as an indicator of intra- and extramyocellular lipid (IMCL and EMCL), remained strongly and independently positively associated with physical function and performance following adjustment. Baseline TMD was inversely associated with gains in strength, independent of muscle mass. Percent change in TMD was positively associated with improved chair stand and increased type II fiber frequency but was not associated with muscle hypertrophy or overall strength gain following PRT. For the first time, we show that metformin use during PRT blunted density and strength gains by inhibiting fiber type switching primarily in those with low baseline TMD. These results indicate that participants with higher muscle lipid content derive the most performance benefit from PRT. Our results further indicate that muscle density may be as influential as muscle size for strength, physical function, and performance in healthy older adults. ClinicalTrials.gov , NCT02308228, Registered on 25 November 2014.

The effects of diet composition and chronic obesity on muscle growth and function

Diet-induced obesity (DIO) is associated with glucose intolerance, insulin resistance (IR), and an increase in intramyocellular lipids (IMCL), which may lead to disturbances in glucose and protein metabolism. To this matter, it has been speculated that chronic obesity and elevated IMCL may contribute to skeletal muscle loss and deficits in muscle function and growth capacity. Thus, we hypothesized that diets with elevated fat content would induce obesity and insulin resistance, leading to a decrease in muscle mass and an attenuated growth response to increased external loading in adult male mice. Male C57BL/6 mice (8 wk of age) were subjected to five different diets, namely, chow, low-dat-diet (LFD), high-fat-diet (HFD), sucrose, or Western diet, for 28 wk. At 25 wk, HFD and Western diets induced a 60.4% and 35.9% increase in body weight, respectively. Interestingly, HFD, but not Western or sucrose, induced glucose intolerance and insulin resistance. Measurement of isometric torque (ankle plantar flexor and ankle dorsiflexor muscles) revealed no effect of DIO on muscle function. At 28 wk of intervention, muscle area and protein synthesis were similar across all diet groups, despite insulin resistance and increased IMCL being observed in HFD and Western diet groups. In response to 30 days of functional overload, an attenuated growth response was observed in only the HFD group. Nevertheless, our results show that DIO alone is not sufficient to induce muscle atrophy and contractile dysfunction in adult male C57BL/6 mice. However, diet composition does have an impact on muscle growth in response to increased external loading.NEW & NOTEWORTHY The effects of diet-induced obesity on skeletal muscle mass are complex and dependent on diet composition and diet duration. The present study results show that chronic exposure to high levels of fatty acids does not affect muscle mass, contractile function, or protein synthesis in obese C57BL/6 mice compared with the consumption of chow. Obesity did result in a delay in load-induced growth; however, only a 45% HFD resulted in attenuated growth following 30 days of functional overload.

Knockdown of the E3 ubiquitin ligase UBR5 and its role in skeletal muscle anabolism

UBR5 is an E3 ubiquitin ligase positively associated with anabolism, hypertrophy, and recovery from atrophy in skeletal muscle. The precise mechanisms underpinning UBR5's role in the regulation of skeletal muscle mass remain unknown. The present study aimed to elucidate these mechanisms by silencing the UBR5 gene in vivo. To achieve this aim, we electroporated a UBR5-RNAi plasmid into mouse tibialis anterior muscle to investigate the impact of reduced UBR5 on anabolic signaling MEK/ERK/p90RSK and Akt/GSK3β/p70S6K/4E-BP1/rpS6 pathways. Seven days after UBR5 RNAi electroporation, although reductions in overall muscle mass were not detected, the mean cross-sectional area (CSA) of green fluorescent protein (GFP)-positive fibers were reduced (-9.5%) and the number of large fibers were lower versus the control. Importantly, UBR5-RNAi significantly reduced total RNA, muscle protein synthesis, ERK1/2, Akt, and GSK3β activity. Although p90RSK phosphorylation significantly increased, total p90RSK protein levels demonstrated a 45% reduction with UBR5-RNAi. Finally, these early events after 7 days of UBR5 knockdown culminated in significant reductions in muscle mass (-4.6%) and larger reductions in fiber CSA (-18.5%) after 30 days. This was associated with increased levels of phosphatase PP2Ac and inappropriate chronic elevation of p70S6K and rpS6 between 7 and 30 days, as well as corresponding reductions in eIF4e. This study demonstrates that UBR5 plays an important role in anabolism/hypertrophy, whereby knockdown of UBR5 culminates in skeletal muscle atrophy.

Lamin-Related Congenital Muscular Dystrophy Alters Mechanical Signaling and Skeletal Muscle Growth

Laminopathies are a clinically heterogeneous group of disorders caused by mutations in the LMNA gene, which encodes the nuclear envelope proteins lamins A and C. The most frequent diseases associated with LMNA mutations are characterized by skeletal and cardiac involvement, and include autosomal dominant Emery–Dreifuss muscular dystrophy (EDMD), limb-girdle muscular dystrophy type 1B, and LMNA-related congenital muscular dystrophy (LMNA-CMD). Although the exact pathophysiological mechanisms responsible for LMNA-CMD are not yet understood, severe contracture and muscle atrophy suggest that mutations may impair skeletal muscle growth. Using human muscle stem cells (MuSCs) carrying LMNA-CMD mutations, we observe impaired myogenic fusion with disorganized cadherin/β catenin adhesion complexes. We show that skeletal muscle from Lmna-CMD mice is unable to hypertrophy in response to functional overload, due to defective fusion of activated MuSCs, defective protein synthesis and defective remodeling of the neuromuscular junction. Moreover, stretched myotubes and overloaded muscle fibers with LMNA-CMD mutations display aberrant mechanical regulation of the yes-associated protein (YAP). We also observe defects in MuSC activation and YAP signaling in muscle biopsies from LMNA-CMD patients. These phenotypes are not recapitulated in closely related but less severe EDMD models. In conclusion, combining studies in vitro, in vivo, and patient samples, we find that LMNA-CMD mutations interfere with mechanosignaling pathways in skeletal muscle, implicating A-type lamins in the regulation of skeletal muscle growth.

Approach for semi-automated measurement of fiber diameter in murine and canine skeletal muscle

Currently available software tools for automated segmentation and analysis of muscle cross-section images often perform poorly in cases of weak or non-uniform staining conditions. To address these issues, our group has developed the MyoSAT (Myofiber Segmentation and Analysis Tool) image-processing pipeline. MyoSAT combines several unconventional approaches including advanced background leveling, Perona-Malik anisotropic diffusion filtering, and Steger’s line detection algorithm to aid in pre-processing and enhancement of the muscle image. Final segmentation is based upon marker-based watershed segmentation. Validation tests using collagen V labeled murine and canine muscle tissue demonstrate that MyoSAT can determine mean muscle fiber diameter with an average accuracy of ~92.4%. The software has been tested to work on full muscle cross-sections and works well even under non-optimal staining conditions. The MyoSAT software tool has been implemented as a macro for the freely available ImageJ software platform. This new segmentation tool allows scientists to efficiently analyze large muscle cross-sections for use in research studies and diagnostics.

Muscle memory: myonuclear accretion, maintenance, morphology, and miRNA levels with training and detraining in adult mice

BACKGROUND

In the context of mass regulation, 'muscle memory' can be defined as long-lasting cellular adaptations to hypertrophic exercise training that persist during detraining-induced atrophy and may facilitate future adaptation. The cellular basis of muscle memory is not clearly defined but may be related to myonuclear number and/or epigenetic changes within muscle fibres.

METHODS

Utilizing progressive weighted wheel running (PoWeR), a novel murine exercise training model, we explored myonuclear dynamics and skeletal muscle miRNA levels with training and detraining utilizing immunohistochemistry, single fibre myonuclear analysis, and quantitative analysis of miRNAs. We also used a genetically inducible mouse model of fluorescent myonuclear labelling to study myonuclear adaptations early during exercise.

RESULTS

In the soleus, oxidative type 2a fibres were larger after 2 months of PoWeR (P = 0.02), but muscle fibre size and myonuclear number did not return to untrained levels after 6 months of detraining. Soleus type 1 fibres were not larger after PoWeR but had significantly more myonuclei, as well as central nuclei (P < 0.0001), the latter from satellite cell-derived or resident myonuclei, appearing early during training and remaining with detraining. In the gastrocnemius muscle, oxidative type 2a fibres of the deep region were larger and contained more myonuclei after PoWeR (P < 0.003), both of which returned to untrained levels after detraining. In the gastrocnemius and plantaris, two muscles where myonuclear number was comparable with untrained levels after 6 months of detraining, myonuclei were significantly elongated with detraining (P < 0.0001). In the gastrocnemius, miR-1 was lower with training and remained lower after detraining (P < 0.002).

CONCLUSIONS

This study found that (i) myonuclei gained during hypertrophy are lost with detraining across muscles, even in oxidative fibres; (ii) complete reversal of muscle adaptations, including myonuclear number, to untrained levels occurs within 6 months in the plantaris and gastrocnemius; (iii) the murine soleus is resistant to detraining; (iv) myonuclear accretion occurs early with wheel running and can be uncoupled from muscle fibre hypertrophy; (v) resident (non-satellite cell-derived) myonuclei can adopt a central location; (vi) myonuclei change shape with training and detraining; and (vii) miR-1 levels may reflect a memory of previous adaptation that facilitates future growth.

An obesogenic maternal environment impairs mouse growth patterns, satellite cell activation, and markers of postnatal myogenesis

Skeletal muscle is sensitive to environmental cues that are first present in utero. Maternal overnutrition is a model of impaired muscle development leading to structural and metabolic dysfunction in adult life. In this study, we investigated the effect of an obesogenic maternal environment on growth and postnatal myogenesis in the offspring. Male C57BL/6J mice born to chow- or high-fat-diet-fed mothers were allocated to four different groups at the end of weaning. For the following 10 wk, half of the pups were maintained on the same diet as their mother and half of the pups were switched to the other diet (chow or high-fat). At 12 wk of age, muscle injury was induced using an intramuscular injection of barium chloride. Seven days later, mice were humanely killed and muscle tissue was harvested. A high-fat maternal diet impaired offspring growth patterns and downregulated satellite cell activation and markers of postnatal myogenesis 7 days after injury without altering the number of newly synthetized fibers over the whole 7-day period. Importantly, a healthy postnatal diet could not reverse any of these effects. In addition, we demonstrated that postnatal myogenesis was associated with a diet-independent upregulation of three miRNAs, mmu-miR-31-5p, mmu-miR-136-5p, and mmu-miR-296-5p. Furthermore, in vitro analysis confirmed the role of these miRNAs in myocyte proliferation. Our findings are the first to demonstrate that maternal overnutrition impairs markers of postnatal myogenesis in the offspring and are particularly relevant to today's society where the incidence of overweight/obesity in women of childbearing age is increasing.

Satellite Cell Depletion Disrupts Transcriptional Coordination and Muscle Adaptation to Exercise

Satellite cells are required for postnatal development, skeletal muscle regeneration across the lifespan, and skeletal muscle hypertrophy prior to maturity. Our group has aimed to address whether satellite cells are required for hypertrophic growth in mature skeletal muscle. Here, we generated a comprehensive characterization and transcriptome-wide profiling of skeletal muscle during adaptation to exercise in the presence or absence of satellite cells in order to identify distinct phenotypes and gene networks influenced by satellite cell content. We administered vehicle or tamoxifen to adult Pax7-DTA mice and subjected them to progressive weighted wheel running (PoWeR). We then performed immunohistochemical analysis and whole-muscle RNA-seq of vehicle (SC+) and tamoxifen-treated (SC-) mice. Further, we performed single myonuclear RNA-seq to provide detailed information on how satellite cell fusion affects myonuclear transcription. We show that while skeletal muscle can mount a robust hypertrophic response to PoWeR in the absence of satellite cells, growth, and adaptation are ultimately blunted. Transcriptional profiling reveals several gene networks key to muscle adaptation are altered in the absence of satellite cells.

MyoSight-semi-automated image analysis of skeletal muscle cross sections

BACKGROUND

Manual analysis of cross-sectional area, fiber-type distribution, and total and centralized nuclei in skeletal muscle cross sections is tedious and time consuming, necessitating an accurate, automated method of analysis. While several excellent programs are available, our analyses of skeletal muscle disease models suggest the need for additional features and flexibility to adequately describe disease pathology. We introduce a new semi-automated analysis program, MyoSight, which is designed to facilitate image analysis of skeletal muscle cross sections and provide additional flexibility in the analyses.

RESULTS

We describe staining and imaging methods that generate high-quality images of immunofluorescent-labelled cross sections from mouse skeletal muscle. Using these methods, we can analyze up to 5 different fluorophores in a single image, allowing simultaneous analyses of perinuclei, central nuclei, fiber size, and fiber-type distribution. MyoSight displays high reproducibility among users, and the data generated are in close agreement with data obtained from manual analyses of cross-sectional area (CSA), fiber number, fiber-type distribution, and number and localization of myonuclei. Furthermore, MyoSight clearly delineates changes in these parameters in muscle sections from a mouse model of Duchenne muscular dystrophy (mdx).

CONCLUSIONS

MyoSight is a new program based on an algorithm that can be optimized by the user to obtain highly accurate fiber size, fiber-type identification, and perinuclei and central nuclei per fiber measurements. MyoSight combines features available separately in other programs, is user friendly, and provides visual outputs that allow the user to confirm the accuracy of the analyses and correct any inaccuracies. We present MyoSight as a new program to facilitate the analyses of fiber type and CSA changes arising from injury, disease, exercise, and therapeutic interventions.

The Dunkin Hartley Guinea Pig Is a Model of Primary Osteoarthritis That Also Exhibits Early Onset Myofiber Remodeling That Resembles Human Musculoskeletal Aging

Skeletal muscle dysfunction, articular cartilage degeneration, and bone loss occur essentially in parallel during aging. Mechanisms contributing to this systemic musculoskeletal decline remain incompletely understood, limiting progress toward developing effective therapeutics. Because the progression of human musculoskeletal aging is slow, researchers rely on rodent models to identify mechanisms and test interventions. The Dunkin Hartley guinea pig is an outbred strain that begins developing primary osteoarthritis by 4 months of age with a progression and pathology similar to aging humans. The purpose of this study was to determine if skeletal muscle remodeling during the progression of osteoarthritis in these guinea pigs resembles musculoskeletal aging in humans. We compared Dunkin Hartley guinea pigs to Strain 13 guinea pigs, which develop osteoarthritis much later in the lifespan. We measured myofiber type and size, muscle density, and long-term fractional protein synthesis rates of the gastrocnemius and soleus muscles in 5, 9, and 15-month-old guinea pigs. There was an age-related decline in skeletal muscle density, a greater proportion of smaller myofibers, and a decline in type II concomitant with a rise in type I myofibers in the gastrocnemius muscles from Dunkin Hartley guinea pigs only. These changes were accompanied by age-related declines in myofibrillar and mitochondrial protein synthesis in the gastrocnemius and soleus. Collectively, these findings suggest Dunkin Hartley guinea pigs experience myofiber remodeling alongside the progression of osteoarthritis, consistent with human musculoskeletal aging. Thus, Dunkin Hartley guinea pigs may be a model to advance discovery and therapeutic development for human musculoskeletal aging.

The role of neutrophil extracellular traps and TLR signaling in skeletal muscle ischemia reperfusion injury

Ischemia reperfusion (IR) injury results in devastating skeletal muscle fibrosis. Here, we recapitulate this injury with a mouse model of hindlimb IR injury which leads to skeletal muscle fibrosis. Injury resulted in extensive immune infiltration with robust neutrophil extracellular trap (NET) formation in the skeletal muscle, however, direct targeting of NETs via the peptidylarginine deiminase 4 (PAD4) mechanism was insufficient to reduce muscle fibrosis. Circulating levels of IL-10 and TNFα were significantly elevated post injury, indicating toll-like receptor (TLR) signaling may be involved in muscle injury. Administration of hydroxychloroquine (HCQ), a small molecule inhibitor of TLR7/8/9, following injury reduced NET formation, IL-10, and TNFα levels and ultimately mitigated muscle fibrosis and improved myofiber regeneration following IR injury. HCQ treatment decreased fibroadipogenic progenitor cell proliferation and partially inhibited ERK1/2 phosphorylation in the injured tissue, suggesting it may act through a combination of TLR7/8/9 and ERK signaling mechanisms. We demonstrate that treatment with FDA-approved HCQ leads to decreased muscle fibrosis and increased myofiber regeneration following IR injury, suggesting short-term HCQ treatment may be a viable treatment to prevent muscle fibrosis in ischemia reperfusion and traumatic extremity injury.

Exercise-mediated alteration of hippocampal Dicer mRNA and miRNAs is associated with lower BACE1 gene expression and Aβ1-42 in female 3xTg-AD mice

Changes to cerebral miRNA expression have been implicated in the progression of Alzheimer's disease (AD), as miRNAs that regulate the expression of gene products involved in amyloid beta (Aβ) processing, such as BACE1, are dysregulated in those that suffer from AD. Exercise training improves cognition and reduces BACE1 and Aβ-plaque burden; however, the mechanisms are not fully understood. Using our progressive weighted wheel running (PoWeR) exercise program, we assessed the effect of 20 wk of exercise training on changes in hippocampal miRNA expression in female 3xTg-AD (3xTg) mice. PoWeR was sufficient to promote muscle hypertrophy and increase myonuclear abundance. Furthermore, PoWeR elevated hippocampal Dicer gene expression in 3xTg mice, while altering miRNA expression toward a more wild-type profile. Specifically, miR-29, which is validated to target BACE1, was significantly lower in sedentary 3xTg mice when compared with wild-type but was elevated following PoWeR. Accordingly, BACE1 gene expression, along with detergent-soluble Aβ^1-42, was lower in PoWeR-trained 3xTg mice. Our data suggest that PoWeR training upregulates Dicer gene expression to alter cerebral miRNA expression, which may contribute to reduced Aβ accumulation and delay AD progression.NEW & NOTEWORTHY Previous studies have outlined the beneficial effects of exercise on lowering BACE1 expression and reducing Aβ plaques. This study extends upon the work of others by outlining a new potential mechanism by which exercise elicits beneficial effects on Alzheimer's disease pathology, specifically through modulation of Dicer and miRNA expression. This is the first study to examine Dicer and miRNA expression in the hippocampus of the 3xTg model within the context of exercise.

Semiautomatic morphometric analysis of skeletal muscle obtained by needle biopsy in older adults

Analysis of skeletal muscle mass and composition is essential for studying the biology of age-related sarcopenia, loss of muscle mass, and function. Muscle immunohistochemistry (IHC) allows for simultaneous visualization of morphological characteristics and determination of fiber type composition. The information gleaned from myosin heavy chain (MHC) isoform, and morphological measurements offer a more complete assessment of muscle health and properties than classical techniques such as SDS-PAGE and ATPase immunostaining; however, IHC quantification is a time-consuming and tedious method. We developed a semiautomatic method to account for issues frequently encountered in aging tissue. We analyzed needle-biopsied vastus lateralis (VL) of the quadriceps from a cohort of 14 volunteers aged 74.9 ± 2.2 years. We found a high correlation between manual quantification and semiautomatic analyses for the total number of fibers detected (r² = 0.989) and total fiber cross-sectional area (r² = 0.836). The analysis of the VL fiber subtype composition and the cross-sectional area also did not show statistically significant differences. The semiautomatic approach was completed in 10-15% of the time required for manual quantification. The results from these analyses highlight some of the specific issues which commonly occur in aged muscle. Our methods which address these issues underscore the importance of developing efficient, accurate, and reliable methods for quantitatively analyzing the skeletal muscle and the standardization of collection protocols to maximize the likelihood of preserving tissue quality in older adults. Utilizing IHC as a means of exploring the progression of disease, aging, and injury in the skeletal muscle allows for the practical study of muscle tissue down to the fiber level. By adding editing modules to our semiautomatic approach, we accurately quantified the aging muscle and addressed common technical issues.

Identification and characterization of Fbxl22, a novel skeletal muscle atrophy-promoting E3 ubiquitin ligase

Muscle-specific E3 ubiquitin ligases have been identified in muscle atrophy-inducing conditions. The purpose of the current study was to explore the functional role of F-box and leucine-rich protein 22 (Fbxl22), and a newly identified splice variant (Fbxl22-193), in skeletal muscle homeostasis and neurogenic muscle atrophy. In mouse C₂C₁₂ muscle cells, promoter fragments of the Fbxl22 gene were cloned and fused with the secreted alkaline phosphatase reporter gene to assess the transcriptional regulation of Fbxl22. The tibialis anterior muscles of male C57/BL6 mice (12-16 wk old) were electroporated with expression plasmids containing the cDNA of two Fbxl22 splice variants and tissues collected after 7, 14, and 28 days. Gastrocnemius muscles of wild-type and muscle-specific RING finger 1 knockout (MuRF1 KO) mice were electroporated with an Fbxl22 RNAi or empty plasmid and denervated 3 days posttransfection, and tissues were collected 7 days postdenervation. The full-length gene and novel splice variant are transcriptionally induced early (after 3 days) during neurogenic muscle atrophy. In vivo overexpression of Fbxl22 isoforms in mouse skeletal muscle leads to evidence of myopathy/atrophy, suggesting that both are involved in the process of neurogenic muscle atrophy. Knockdown of Fbxl22 in the muscles of MuRF1 KO mice resulted in significant additive muscle sparing 7 days after denervation. Targeting two E3 ubiquitin ligases appears to have a strong additive effect on protecting muscle mass loss with denervation, and these findings have important implications in the development of therapeutic strategies to treat muscle atrophy.

Serum extracellular vesicle miR-203a-3p content is associated with skeletal muscle mass and protein turnover during disuse atrophy and regrowth

Small noncoding microRNAs (miRNAs) are important regulators of skeletal muscle size, and circulating miRNAs within extracellular vesicles (EVs) may contribute to atrophy and its associated systemic effects. The purpose of this study was to understand how muscle atrophy and regrowth alter in vivo serum EV miRNA content. We also associated changes in serum EV miRNA with protein synthesis, protein degradation, and miRNA within muscle, kidney, and liver. We subjected adult (10 mo) F344/BN rats to three conditions: weight bearing (WB), hindlimb suspension (HS) for 7 days to induce muscle atrophy, and HS for 7 days followed by 7 days of reloading (HSR). Microarray analysis of EV miRNA content showed that the overall changes in serum EV miRNA were predicted to target major anabolic, catabolic, and mechanosensitive pathways. MiR-203a-3p was the only miRNA demonstrating substantial differences in HS EVs compared with WB. There was a limited association of EV miRNA content to the corresponding miRNA content within the muscle, kidney, or liver. Stepwise linear regression demonstrated that EV miR-203a-3p was correlated with muscle mass and muscle protein synthesis and degradation across all conditions. Finally, EV miR-203a-3p expression was significantly decreased in human subjects who underwent unilateral lower limb suspension (ULLS) to induce muscle atrophy. Altogether, we show that serum EV miR-203a-3p expression is related to skeletal muscle protein turnover and atrophy. We suggest that serum EV miR-203a-3p content may be a useful biomarker and future work should investigate whether serum EV miR-203a-3p content is mechanistically linked to protein synthesis and degradation.

Fusion-Independent Satellite Cell Communication to Muscle Fibers During Load-Induced Hypertrophy

The "canonical" function of Pax7+ muscle stem cells (satellite cells) during hypertrophic growth of adult muscle fibers is myonuclear donation via fusion to support increased transcriptional output. In recent years, however, emerging evidence suggests that satellite cells play an important secretory role in promoting load-mediated growth. Utilizing genetically modified mouse models of delayed satellite cell fusion and in vivo extracellular vesicle (EV) tracking, we provide evidence for satellite cell communication to muscle fibers during hypertrophy. Myogenic progenitor cell-EV-mediated communication to myotubes in vitro influences extracellular matrix (ECM)-related gene expression, which is congruent with in vivo overload experiments involving satellite cell depletion, as well as in silico analyses. Satellite cell-derived EVs can transfer a Cre-induced, cytoplasmic-localized fluorescent reporter to muscle cells as well as microRNAs that regulate ECM genes such as matrix metalloproteinase 9 (Mmp9), which may facilitate growth. Delayed satellite cell fusion did not limit long-term load-induced muscle hypertrophy indicating that early fusion-independent communication from satellite cells to muscle fibers is an underappreciated aspect of satellite cell biology. We cannot exclude the possibility that satellite cell-mediated myonuclear accretion is necessary to maintain prolonged growth, specifically in the later phases of adaptation, but these data collectively highlight how EV delivery from satellite cells can directly contribute to mechanical load-induced muscle fiber hypertrophy, independent of cell fusion to the fiber.

The wasting-associated metabolite succinate disrupts myogenesis and impairs skeletal muscle regeneration

BACKGROUND

Muscle wasting is a debilitating co-morbidity affecting most advanced cancer patients. Alongside enhanced muscle catabolism, defects in muscle repair/regeneration contribute to cancer-associated wasting. Among the factors implicated in suppression of muscle regeneration are cytokines that interfere with myogenic signal transduction pathways. Less understood is how other cancer/wasting-associated cues, such as metabolites, contribute to muscle dysfunction. This study investigates how the metabolite succinate affects myogenesis and muscle regeneration.

METHODS

We leveraged an established ectopic metabolite treatment (cell permeable dimethyl-succinate) strategy to evaluate the ability of intracellular succinate elevation to 1) affect myoblast homeostasis (proliferation, apoptosis), 2) disrupt protein dynamics and induce wasting-associated atrophy, and 3) modulate in vitro myogenesis. In vivo succinate supplementation experiments (2% succinate, 1% sucrose vehicle) were used to corroborate and extend in vitro observations. Metabolic profiling and functional metabolic studies were then performed to investigate the impact of succinate elevation on mitochondria function.

RESULTS

We found that in vitro succinate supplementation elevated intracellular succinate about 2-fold, and did not have an impact on proliferation or apoptosis of C2C12 myoblasts. Elevated succinate had minor effects on protein homeostasis (~25% decrease in protein synthesis assessed by OPP staining), and no significant effect on myotube atrophy. Succinate elevation interfered with in vitro myoblast differentiation, characterized by significant decreases in late markers of myogenesis and fewer nuclei per myosin heavy chain positive structure (assessed by immunofluorescence staining). While mice orally administered succinate did not exhibit changes in overall body composition or whole muscle weights, these mice displayed smaller muscle myofiber diameters (~6% decrease in the mean of non-linear regression curves fit to the histograms of minimum feret diameter distribution), which was exacerbated when muscle regeneration was induced with barium chloride injury. Significant decreases in the mean of non-linear regression curves fit to the histograms of minimum feret diameter distributions were observed 7 days and 28 days post injury. Elevated numbers of myogenin positive cells (3-fold increase) supportive of the differentiation defects observed in vitro were observed 28 days post injury. Metabolic profiling and functional metabolic assessment of myoblasts revealed that succinate elevation caused both widespread metabolic changes and significantly lowered maximal cellular respiration (~35% decrease).

CONCLUSIONS

This study broadens the repertoire of wasting-associated factors that can directly modulate muscle progenitor cell function and strengthens the hypothesis that metabolic derangements are significant contributors to impaired muscle regeneration, an important aspect of cancer-associated muscle wasting.

Massage as a mechanotherapy promotes skeletal muscle protein and ribosomal turnover but does not mitigate muscle atrophy during disuse in adult rats

AIM

Interventions that decrease atrophy during disuse are desperately needed to maintain muscle mass. We recently found that massage as a mechanotherapy can improve muscle regrowth following disuse atrophy. Therefore, we aimed to determine if massage has similar anabolic effects when applied during normal weight bearing conditions (WB) or during atrophy induced by hindlimb suspension (HS) in adult rats.

METHODS

Adult (10 months) male Fischer344-Brown Norway rats underwent either hindlimb suspension (HS, n = 8) or normal WB (WB, n = 8) for 7 days. Massage was applied using cyclic compressive loading (CCL) in WB (WBM, n = 9) or HS rats (HSM, n = 9) and included four 30-minute bouts of CCL applied to gastrocnemius muscle every other day.

RESULTS

Massage had no effect on any anabolic parameter measured under WB conditions (WBM). In contrast, massage during HS (HSM) stimulated protein turnover, but did not mitigate muscle atrophy. Atrophy from HS was caused by both lowered protein synthesis and higher degradation. HS and HSM had lowered total RNA compared with WB and this was the result of significantly higher ribosome degradation in HS that was attenuated in HSM, without differences in ribosomal biogenesis. Also, massage increased protein turnover in the non-massaged contralateral limb during HS. Finally, we determined that total RNA degradation primarily dictates loss of muscle ribosomal content during disuse atrophy.

CONCLUSION

We conclude that massage is an effective mechanotherapy to impact protein turnover during muscle disuse in both the massaged and non-massaged contralateral muscle, but it does not attenuate the loss of muscle mass.

Muscle Fiber Properties in Cattle and Their Relationships with Meat Qualities: An Overview

The control of meat quality traits constitutes an important target for any farm animal production, including cattle. Therefore, better understanding of the biochemical properties that drive muscle development and final outcomes constitutes one of the main challenging topics of animal production and meat science. Accordingly, this review has focused on skeletal muscle fibers in cattle and their relationships with beef qualities. It aimed to describe the chemical and structural properties of muscle fibers as well as a comprehensive review of their contractile and metabolic characteristics during the life of the animal. The existing methods for the classification of muscle fibers were reviewed, compared, and discussed. Then, the different stages of myogenesis in cattle were defined. The main factors regulating fetal and postnatal growth and the plasticity of muscle fibers were evidenced, especially the role of myostatin growth factor and the impact of nutritional factors. This review highlights that the knowledge about muscle fibers is paramount for a better understanding of how to control the muscle properties throughout the life of the animal for better management of the final eating qualities of beef. Accordingly, the associations between bovine muscle fibers and different meat eating qualities such as tenderness, pH decline, and color traits were further presented.

Depletion of resident muscle stem cells negatively impacts running volume, physical function, and muscle fiber hypertrophy in response to lifelong physical activity

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.

Tuning Macrophage Phenotype to Mitigate Skeletal Muscle Fibrosis

Myeloid cells are critical to the development of fibrosis following muscle injury; however, the mechanism of their role in fibrosis formation remains unclear. In this study, we demonstrate that myeloid cell-derived TGF-β1 signaling is increased in a profibrotic ischemia reperfusion and cardiotoxin muscle injury model. We found that myeloid-specific deletion of Tgfb1 abrogates the fibrotic response in this injury model and reduces fibro/adipogenic progenitor cell proliferation while simultaneously enhancing muscle regeneration, which is abrogated by adaptive transfer of normal macrophages. Similarly, a murine TGFBRII-Fc ligand trap administered after injury significantly reduced muscle fibrosis and improved muscle regeneration. This study ultimately demonstrates that infiltrating myeloid cell TGF-β1 is responsible for the development of traumatic muscle fibrosis, and its blockade offers a promising therapeutic target for preventing muscle fibrosis after ischemic injury.

In vivo analysis of γH2AX+ cells in skeletal muscle from aged and obese humans

Over the past 20 years, various identifiers of cellular senescence have been used to quantify the abundance of these cells in different tissues. These include classic markers such as p16, senescence-associated β-gal, and γH2AX, in addition to more recent markers (Sudan Black B and HMGB1). In vivo data on the usefulness of these markers in skeletal muscle are very limited and inconsistent. In the present study, we attempted to identify senescent cells in frozen human skeletal muscle biopsies using these markers to determine the effects of age and obesity on senescent cell burden; however, we were only able to assess the abundance of DNA-damaged nuclei using γH2AX immunohistochemistry. The abundance of γH2AX+ cells, including satellite cells, was not higher in muscle from old compared to young individuals; however, γH2AX+ cells were higher with obesity. Additionally, terminally differentiated, postmitotic myofiber nuclei from obese individuals had elevated γH2AX abundance compared to muscle from lean individuals. Analyses of gene expression support the conclusion that the elevated DNA damage and the senescence-associated secretory phenotype are preferentially associated with obesity in skeletal muscle. These data implicate obesity as a larger contributor to DNA damage in skeletal muscle than aging; however, more sensitive senescence markers for human skeletal muscle are needed to determine if these cells are in fact senescent.

Skeletal Muscle Protein Composition Adaptations to 10 Weeks of High-Load Resistance Training in Previously-Trained Males

While high-load resistance training increases muscle hypertrophy, the intramuscular protein responses to this form of training remains largely unknown. In the current study, recreationally resistance-trained college-aged males (N = 15; mean ± SD: 23 ± 3 years old, 6 ± 5 years training) performed full-body, low-volume, high-load [68–90% of one repetition maximum (1RM)] resistance training over 10 weeks. Back squat strength testing, body composition testing, and a vastus lateralis biopsy were performed before (PRE) and 72 h after the 10-week training program (POST). Fiber type-specific cross-sectional area (fCSA), myofibrillar protein concentrations, sarcoplasmic protein concentrations, myosin heavy chain and actin protein abundances, and muscle tissue percent fluid were analyzed. The abundances of individual sarcoplasmic proteins in 10 of the 15 participants were also assessed using proteomics. Significant increases (p < 0.05) in type II fCSA and back squat strength occurred with training, although whole-body fat-free mass paradoxically decreased (p = 0.026). No changes in sarcoplasmic protein concentrations or muscle tissue percent fluid were observed. Myosin heavy chain protein abundance trended downward (−2.9 ± 5.8%, p = 0.069) and actin protein abundance decreased (−3.2 ± 5.3%, p = 0.034) with training. Proteomics indicated only 13 sarcoplasmic proteins were altered with training (12 up-regulated, 1 down-regulated, p < 0.05). Bioinformatics indicated no signaling pathways were affected, and proteins involved with metabolism (e.g., ATP-PCr, glycolysis, TCA cycle, or beta-oxidation) were not affected. These data comprehensively describe intramuscular protein adaptations that occur following 10 weeks of high-load resistance training. Although previous data from our laboratory suggests high-volume resistance training enhances the ATP-PCr and glycolytic pathways, we observed different changes in metabolism-related proteins in the current study with high-load training.

A novel transplantable model of lung cancer-associated tissue loss and disrupted muscle regeneration

BACKGROUND

Cancer-associated muscle wasting (CAW), a symptom of cancer cachexia, is associated with approximately 20% of lung cancer deaths and remains poorly characterized on a mechanistic level. Current animal models for lung cancer-associated cachexia are limited in that they (1) primarily employ flank transplantation methods, (2) have short survival times not reflective of the patient condition, and (3) are typically performed in young mice not representative of mean patient age. This study investigates a new model for lung cancer-associated cachexia that can address these issues and also implicates muscle regeneration as a contributor to CAW.

METHODS

We used tail vein injection as a method to introduce tumor cells that seed primarily in the lungs of mice. Body composition of tumor-bearing mice was longitudinally tracked using NMR-based, echo magnetic resonance imaging (echoMRI). These data were combined with histological and molecular assessments of skeletal muscle to provide a complete analysis of muscle wasting.

RESULTS

In this new lung CAW model, we observed (1) progressive loss in whole body weight, (2) progressive loss of lean and fat mass, (3) a circulating cytokine/inflammatory profile similar to that seen in other models of CAW, (4) histological changes associated with muscle wasting, and (5) molecular changes in muscle that implicate suppression of muscle repair/regeneration. Finally, we show that survival can be extended without lessening CAW by titrating injected cell number.

CONCLUSIONS

Overall, this study describes a new model of CAW that could be useful for further studies of lung cancer-associated wasting and accompanying changes in the regenerative capacity of muscle. Additionally, this model addresses many recent concerns with existing models such as immunocompetence, tumor location, and survival time.

Myosoft: An automated muscle histology analysis tool using machine learning algorithm utilizing FIJI/ImageJ software

METHODS

Muscle sections were stained for cell boundary (laminin) and myofiber type (myosin heavy chain isoforms). Myosoft, running in the open access software platform FIJI (ImageJ), was used to analyze myofiber size and type in transverse sections of entire gastrocnemius/soleus muscles.

RESULTS

Myosoft provides an accurate analysis of hundreds to thousands of muscle fibers within 25 minutes, which is >10-times faster than manual analysis. We demonstrate that Myosoft is capable of handling high-content images even when image or staining quality is suboptimal, which is a marked improvement over currently available and comparable programs.

CONCLUSIONS

Myosoft is a reliable, accurate, high-throughput, and convenient tool to analyze high-content muscle histology. Myosoft is freely available to download from Github at https://github.com/Hyojung-Choo/Myosoft/tree/Myosoft-hub.

Zoledronic Acid Improves Muscle Function in Healthy Mice Treated with Chemotherapy

Carboplatin is a chemotherapy drug used to treat solid tumors but also causes bone loss and muscle atrophy and weakness. Bone loss contributes to muscle weakness through bone-muscle crosstalk, which is prevented with the bisphosphonate zoledronic acid (ZA). We treated mice with carboplatin in the presence or absence of ZA to assess the impact of bone resorption on muscle. Carboplatin caused loss of body weight, muscle mass, and bone mass, and also led to muscle weakness as early as 7 days after treatment. Mice treated with carboplatin and ZA lost body weight and muscle mass but did not lose bone mass. In addition, muscle function in mice treated with ZA was similar to control animals. We also used the anti-TGFβ antibody (1D11) to prevent carboplatin-induced bone loss and showed similar results to ZA-treated mice. We found that atrogin-1 mRNA expression was increased in muscle from mice treated with carboplatin, which explained muscle atrophy. In mice treated with carboplatin for 1 or 3 days, we did not observe any bone or muscle loss, or muscle weakness. In addition, reduced caloric intake in the carboplatin treated mice did not cause loss of bone or muscle mass, or muscle weakness. Our results show that blocking carboplatin-induced bone resorption is sufficient to prevent skeletal muscle weakness and suggests another benefit to bone therapy beyond bone in patients receiving chemotherapy. © 2019 American Society for Bone and Mineral Research.

Muscle regeneration in adiponectin knockout mice showed early activation of anti-inflammatory response with perturbations in myogenesis

Activation, proliferation, and differentiation of satellite cells can be influenced by extracellular factors, such as adiponectin. This adipokine has been proposed as a regulator of in vitro myogenesis, but its action on in vivo regeneration is not still elucidated. We used C57BL/6 (wild-type [WT]) and adiponectin knockout (AdKO) mice injured with barium chloride at periods of 3, 7, and 14 days after injury. The AdKO presented a higher number of centralized nuclei after 7 days, and a reduction in myogenic genes was observed after 3 days. Moreover, these mice presented an increase in anti-inflammatory cytokines after 3 and 7 days, and an increase in the M2 gene marker and proinflammatory cytokines after 7 days. The WT demonstrated an increase in adiponectin messenger RNA after 7 days. These results demonstrate that adiponectin is important in tissue remodeling during regeneration and that its deficiency does not compromise the maturation of muscle fibers, due to an increase in anti-inflammatory response; however, there is a possible impairment in proinflammatory response and an increase in centralized myonuclei.

Skeletal Muscle Myofibrillar Protein Abundance Is Higher in Resistance-Trained Men, and Aging in the Absence of Training May Have an Opposite Effect

Resistance training generally increases skeletal muscle hypertrophy, whereas aging is associated with a loss in muscle mass. Interestingly, select studies suggest that aging, as well as resistance training, may lead to a reduction in the abundance of skeletal muscle myofibrillar (or contractile) protein (per mg tissue). Proteomic interrogations have also demonstrated that aging, as well as weeks to months of resistance training, lead to appreciable alterations in the muscle proteome. Given this evidence, the purpose of this small pilot study was to examine total myofibrillar as well as total sarcoplasmic protein concentrations (per mg wet muscle) from the vastus lateralis muscle of males who were younger and resistance-trained (denoted as YT, n = 6, 25 ± 4 years old, 10 ± 3 self-reported years of training), younger and untrained (denoted as YU, n = 6, 21 ± 1 years old), and older and untrained (denoted as OU, n = 6, 62 ± 8 years old). The relative abundances of actin and myosin heavy chain (per mg tissue) were also examined using SDS-PAGE and Coomassie staining, and shotgun proteomics was used to interrogate the abundances of individual sarcoplasmic and myofibrillar proteins between cohorts. Whole-body fat-free mass (YT > YU = OU), VL thickness (YT > YU = OU), and leg extensor peak torque (YT > YU = OU) differed between groups (p < 0.05). Total myofibrillar protein concentrations were greater in YT versus OU (p = 0.005), but were not different between YT versus YU (p = 0.325). The abundances of actin and myosin heavy chain were greater in YT versus YU (p < 0.05) and OU (p < 0.001). Total sarcoplasmic protein concentrations were not different between groups. While proteomics indicated that marginal differences existed for individual myofibrillar and sarcoplasmic proteins between YT versus other groups, age-related differences were more prominent for myofibrillar proteins (YT = YU > OU, p < 0.05: 7 proteins; OU > YT = YU, p < 0.05: 11 proteins) and sarcoplasmic proteins (YT = YU > OU, p < 0.05: 8 proteins; OU > YT&YU, p < 0.05: 29 proteins). In summary, our data suggest that modest (~9%) myofibrillar protein packing (on a per mg muscle basis) was evident in the YT group. This study also provides further evidence to suggest that notable skeletal muscle proteome differences exist between younger and older humans. However, given that our n-sizes are low, these results only provide a preliminary phenotyping of the reported protein and proteomic variables.

Synergist ablation-induced hypertrophy occurs more rapidly in the plantaris than soleus muscle in rats due to different molecular mechanisms

We examined molecular mechanisms that were altered during rapid soleus (type I fiber-dominant) and plantaris (type II fiber-dominant) hypertrophy in rats. Twelve Wistar rats (3.5 mo old; 6 female, 6 male) were subjected to surgical right-leg soleus and plantaris dual overload [synergist ablation (SA)], and sham surgeries were performed on left legs (CTL). At 14 days after surgery, the muscles were dissected. Plantaris mass was 27% greater in the SA than CTL leg (P < 0.001), soleus mass was 13% greater in the SA than CTL leg (P < 0.001), and plantaris mass was higher than soleus mass in the SA leg (P = 0.001). Plantaris total RNA concentrations and estimated total RNA levels (suggestive of ribosome density) were 19% and 47% greater in the SA than CTL leg (P < 0.05), protein synthesis levels were 64% greater in the SA than CTL leg (P = 0.038), and satellite cell number per fiber was 60% greater in the SA than CTL leg (P = 0.003); no differences in these metrics were observed between soleus SA and CTL legs. Plantaris, as well as soleus, 20S proteasome activity was lower in the SA than CTL leg (P < 0.05), although the degree of downregulation was greater in the plantaris than soleus muscle (-63% vs. -20%, P = 0.001). These data suggest that early-phase plantaris hypertrophy occurs more rapidly than soleus hypertrophy, which coincided with greater increases in ribosome biogenesis, protein synthesis, and satellite cell density, as well as greater decrements in 20S proteasome activity, in the plantaris muscle.

Phosphorylation of eukaryotic initiation factor 4E is dispensable for skeletal muscle hypertrophy

The eukaryotic initiation factor 4E (eIF4E) is a major mRNA cap-binding protein that has a central role in translation initiation. Ser209 is the single phosphorylation site within eIF4E and modulates its activity in response to MAPK pathway activation. It has been reported that phosphorylation of eIF4E at Ser209 promotes translation of key mRNAs, such as cyclin D1, that regulate ribosome biogenesis. We hypothesized that phosphorylation at Ser209 is required for skeletal muscle growth in response to a hypertrophic stimulus by promoting ribosome biogenesis. To test this hypothesis, wild-type (WT) and eIF4E knocked-in (KI) mice were subjected to synergist ablation to induce muscle hypertrophy of the plantaris muscle as the result of mechanical overload; in the KI mouse, Ser209 of eIF4E was replaced with a nonphosphorylatable alanine. Contrary to our hypothesis, we observed no difference in the magnitude of hypertrophy between WT and KI groups in response to 14 days of mechanical overload induced by synergist ablation. Similarly, the increases in cyclin D1 protein levels, ribosome biogenesis, and translational capacity did not differ between WT and KI groups. Based on these findings, we conclude that phosphorylation of eIF4E at Ser209 is dispensable for skeletal muscle hypertrophy in response to mechanical overload.

Muscle2View, a CellProfiler pipeline for detection of the capillary-to-muscle fiber interface and high-content quantification of fiber type-specific histology

Because manual immunohistochemical analysis of features such as skeletal muscle fiber typing, capillaries, myonuclei, and fiber size-related parameters is time consuming and prone to user subjectivity, automatic computational methods could allow for faster and more objective evaluation. Here, we developed Muscle2View, a free CellProfiler-based pipeline that integrates all key fiber-morphological variables, including the novel quantification of the capillary-to-fiber interface, in one single tool. Provided that the images are of sufficient quality and the settings are configured for the specific study, the pipeline allows for automatic and unsupervised analysis of fiber borders, myonuclei, capillaries, and morphometric parameters in a fiber type-specific manner from large batches of images in <10 min/tissue sample. The novel identification of the capillary-to-fiber interface allowed for the calculation of microvascular factors such as capillary contacts (CC), individual capillary-to-fiber ratio (C/Fi), and capillary-to-fiber perimeter exchange (CFPE) index. When comparing the Muscle2View pipeline to manual or semiautomatic analysis, overall the results revealed strong correlations. For several variables, however, there were differences (5–15%) between values computed by manual counting and Muscle2View, suggesting that the methods should not necessarily be used interchangeably. Collectively, we demonstrate that the Muscle2View pipeline can provide unbiased and high-content analysis of muscle cross-sectional immunohistochemistry images. In addition to the classical morphological measurements, the Muscle2View can identify the complex capillary-to-fiber network and myonuclear density in a fiber type-specific manner. This robust analysis is done in one single run within a user-friendly and flexible environment based on the free and widely used image software CellProfiler.

NEW & NOTEWORTHY Here, we developed a freely available CellProfiler-based pipeline termed Muscle2View, which provides unbiased, high-content analysis of muscle cross-sectional immunohistochemistry images. In addition to fiber typing, myonuclei counting, and the quantification of fiber type-specific morphological measurements, the Muscle2View pipeline can identify the complex capillary-to-fiber network from a batch of images within minutes. Thus, the Muscle2View is a viable tool for researchers aiming to quantify immunohistochemical variables from skeletal muscle biopsies.

QuantiMus: A Machine Learning-Based Approach for High Precision Analysis of Skeletal Muscle Morphology

Skeletal muscle injury provokes a regenerative response, characterized by the de novo generation of myofibers that are distinguished by central nucleation and re-expression of developmentally restricted genes. In addition to these characteristics, myofiber cross-sectional area (CSA) is widely used to evaluate muscle hypertrophic and regenerative responses. Here, we introduce QuantiMus, a free software program that uses machine learning algorithms to quantify muscle morphology and molecular features with high precision and quick processing-time. The ability of QuantiMus to define and measure myofibers was compared to manual measurement or other automated software programs. QuantiMus rapidly and accurately defined total myofibers and measured CSA with comparable performance but quantified the CSA of centrally-nucleated fibers (CNFs) with greater precision compared to other software. It additionally quantified the fluorescence intensity of individual myofibers of human and mouse muscle, which was used to assess the distribution of myofiber type, based on the myosin heavy chain isoform that was expressed. Furthermore, analysis of entire quadriceps cross-sections of healthy and mdx mice showed that dystrophic muscle had an increased frequency of Evans blue dye+ injured myofibers. QuantiMus also revealed that the proportion of centrally nucleated, regenerating myofibers that express embryonic myosin heavy chain (eMyHC) or neural cell adhesion molecule (NCAM) were increased in dystrophic mice. Our findings reveal that QuantiMus has several advantages over existing software. The unique self-learning capacity of the machine learning algorithms provides superior accuracy and the ability to rapidly interrogate the complete muscle section. These qualities increase rigor and reproducibility by avoiding methods that rely on the sampling of representative areas of a section. This is of particular importance for the analysis of dystrophic muscle given the "patchy" distribution of muscle pathology. QuantiMus is an open source tool, allowing customization to meet investigator-specific needs and provides novel analytical approaches for quantifying muscle morphology.

Fiber typing human skeletal muscle with fluorescent immunohistochemistry

Skeletal muscle myosin heavy chain (MyHC) fiber type composition is a critical determinant of overall muscle function and health. Various approaches interrogate fiber type at the single cell, but the two most commonly utilized are single-muscle fiber sodium dodecyl sulfate-polyacrylamide gel electrophoresis (smfSDS-PAGE) and fluorescent immunohistochemistry (IHC). Although smfSDS-PAGE is generally considered the "gold standard," IHC is more commonly used because of its time-effectiveness and relative ease. Unfortunately, there is lingering inconsistency on how best to accurately and quickly determine fiber type via IHC and an overall misunderstanding regarding pure fiber type proportions, specifically the abundance of fibers exclusively expressing highly glycolytic MyHC IIX in humans. We therefore 1) present information and data showing the low abundance of pure MyHC IIX muscle fibers in healthy human skeletal muscle and 2) leverage this information to provide straightforward protocols that are informed by human biology and employ inexpensive, easily attainable antibodies for the accurate determination of fiber type.

Resident muscle stem cells are not required for testosterone-induced skeletal muscle hypertrophy

It is postulated that testosterone-induced skeletal muscle hypertrophy is driven by myonuclear accretion as the result of satellite cell fusion. To directly test this hypothesis, we utilized the Pax7-DTA mouse model to deplete satellite cells in skeletal muscle followed by testosterone administration. Pax7-DTA mice (6 mo of age) were treated for 5 days with either vehicle [satellite cell replete (SC+)] or tamoxifen [satellite cell depleted (SC-)]. Following a washout period, a testosterone propionate or sham pellet was implanted for 21 days. Testosterone administration caused a significant increase in muscle fiber cross-sectional area in SC+ and SC- mice in both oxidative (soleus) and glycolytic (plantaris and extensor digitorum longus) muscles. In SC+ mice treated with testosterone, there was a significant increase in both satellite cell abundance and myonuclei that was completely absent in testosterone-treated SC- mice. These findings provide direct evidence that testosterone-induced muscle fiber hypertrophy does not require an increase in satellite cell abundance or myonuclear accretion.Listen to a podcast about this Rapid Report with senior author E. E. Dupont-Versteegden (https://ajpcell.podbean.com/e/podcast-on-paper-that-shows-testosterone-induced-skeletal-muscle-hypertrophy-does-not-need-muscle-stem-cells/).

An investigation of p53 in skeletal muscle aging

Age-related skeletal muscle atrophy is a very common and serious condition that remains poorly understood at the molecular level. Several lines of evidence have suggested that the tumor suppressor p53 may play a central, causative role in skeletal muscle aging, whereas other, apparently contradictory lines of evidence have suggested that p53 may be critical for normal skeletal muscle function. To help address these issues, we performed an aging study in male muscle-specific p53-knockout mice (p53 mKO mice), which have a lifelong absence of p53 expression in skeletal muscle fibers. We found that the absence of p53 expression in skeletal muscle fibers had no apparent deleterious or beneficial effects on skeletal muscle mass or function under basal conditions up to 6 mo of age, when mice are fully grown and exhibit peak muscle mass and function. Furthermore, at 22 and 25 mo of age, when age-related muscle weakness and atrophy are clearly evident in mice, p53 mKO mice demonstrated no improvement or worsening of skeletal muscle mass or function relative to littermate control mice. At advanced ages, p53 mKO mice began to die prematurely and had an increased incidence of osteosarcoma, precluding analyses of muscle mass and function in very old p53 mKO mice. In light of these results, we conclude that p53 expression in skeletal muscle fibers has minimal if any direct, cell autonomous effect on basal or age-related changes in skeletal muscle mass and function up to at least 22 mo of age.NEW & NOTEWORTHY Previous studies implicated the transcriptional regulator p53 as a potential mediator of age-related skeletal muscle weakness and atrophy. We tested this hypothesis by investigating the effect of aging in muscle-specific p53-knockout mice. Our results strongly suggest that p53 activity within skeletal muscle fibers is not required for age-related skeletal muscle atrophy or weakness.

Cold water immersion attenuates anabolic signaling and skeletal muscle fiber hypertrophy, but not strength gain, following whole-body resistance training

We determined the effects of cold water immersion (CWI) on long-term adaptations and post-exercise molecular responses in skeletal muscle before and after resistance training. Sixteen men (22.9 ± 4.6 y; 85.1 ± 17.9 kg; mean ± SD) performed resistance training (3 day/wk) for 7 wk, with each session followed by either CWI [15 min at 10°C, CWI (COLD) group, n = 8] or passive recovery (15 min at 23°C, control group, n = 8). Exercise performance [one-repetition maximum (1-RM) leg press and bench press, countermovement jump, squat jump, and ballistic push-up], body composition (dual X-ray absorptiometry), and post-exercise (i.e., +1 and +48 h) molecular responses were assessed before and after training. Improvements in 1-RM leg press were similar between groups [130 ± 69 kg, pooled effect size (ES): 1.53 ± 90% confidence interval (CI) 0.49], whereas increases in type II muscle fiber cross-sectional area were attenuated with CWI (-1,959 ± 1,675 µM² ; ES: -1.37 ± 0.99). Post-exercise mechanistic target of rapamycin complex 1 signaling (rps6 phosphorylation) was blunted for COLD at post-training (POST) +1 h (-0.4-fold, ES: -0.69 ± 0.86) and POST +48 h (-0.2-fold, ES: -1.33 ± 0.82), whereas basal protein degradation markers (FOX-O1 protein content) were increased (1.3-fold, ES: 2.17 ± 2.22). Training-induced increases in heat shock protein (HSP) 27 protein content were attenuated for COLD (-0.8-fold, ES: -0.94 ± 0.82), which also reduced total HSP72 protein content (-0.7-fold, ES: -0.79 ± 0.57). CWI blunted resistance training-induced muscle fiber hypertrophy, but not maximal strength, potentially via reduced skeletal muscle protein anabolism and increased catabolism. Post-exercise CWI should therefore be avoided if muscle hypertrophy is desired.NEW & NOTEWORTHY This study adds to existing evidence that post-exercise cold water immersion attenuates muscle fiber growth with resistance training, which is potentially mediated by attenuated post-exercise increases in markers of skeletal muscle anabolism coupled with increased catabolism and suggests that blunted muscle fiber growth with cold water immersion does not necessarily translate to impaired strength development.

SLCV-a supervised learning-computer vision combined strategy for automated muscle fibre detection in cross-sectional images

Muscle fibre cross-sectional area (CSA) is an important biomedical measure used to determine the structural composition of skeletal muscle, and it is relevant for tackling research questions in many different fields of research. To date, time consuming and tedious manual delineation of muscle fibres is often used to determine the CSA. Few methods are able to automatically detect muscle fibres in muscle fibre cross-sections to quantify CSA due to challenges posed by variation of brightness and noise in the staining images. In this paper, we introduce the supervised learning-computer vision combined pipeline (SLCV), a robust semi-automatic pipeline for muscle fibre detection, which combines supervised learning (SL) with computer vision (CV). SLCV is adaptable to different staining methods and is quickly and intuitively tunable by the user. We are the first to perform an error analysis with respect to cell count and area, based on which we compare SLCV to the best purely CV-based pipeline in order to identify the contribution of SL and CV steps to muscle fibre detection. Our results obtained on 27 fluorescence-stained cross-sectional images of varying staining quality suggest that combining SL and CV performs significantly better than both SL-based and CV-based methods with regards to both the cell separation- and the area reconstruction error. Furthermore, applying SLCV to our test set images yielded fibre detection results of very high quality, with average sensitivity values of 0.93 or higher on different cluster sizes and an average Dice similarity coefficient of 0.9778.

Automated image-analysis method for the quantification of fiber morphometry and fiber type population in human skeletal muscle

Background

The quantitative analysis of muscle histomorphometry has been growing in importance in both research and clinical settings. Accurate and stringent assessment of myofibers’ changes in size and number, and alterations in the proportion of oxidative (type I) and glycolytic (type II) fibers is essential for the appropriate study of aging and pathological muscle, as well as for diagnosis and follow-up of muscle diseases. Manual and semi-automated methods to assess muscle morphometry in sections are time-consuming, limited to a small field of analysis, and susceptible to bias, while most automated methods have been only tested in rodent muscle.

Methods

We developed a new macro script for Fiji-ImageJ to automatically assess human fiber morphometry in digital images of the entire muscle. We tested the functionality of our method in deltoid muscle biopsies from a heterogeneous population of subjects with histologically normal muscle (male, female, old, young, lean, obese) and patients with dermatomyositis, necrotizing autoimmune myopathy, and anti-synthetase syndrome myopathy.

Results

Our macro is fully automated, requires no user intervention, and demonstrated improved fiber segmentation by running a series of image pre-processing steps before the analysis. Likewise, our tool showed high accuracy, as compared with manual methods, for identifying the total number of fibers (r = 0.97, p < 0.001), fiber I and fiber II proportion (r = 0.92, p < 0.001), and minor diameter (r = 0.86, p < 0.001) while conducting analysis in ~ 5 min/sample. The performance of the macro analysis was maintained in pectoral and deltoid samples from subjects of different age, gender, body weight, and muscle status. The output of the analyses includes excel files with the quantification of fibers’ morphometry and color-coded maps based on the fiber’s size, which proved to be an advantageous feature for the fast and easy visual identification of location-specific atrophy and a potential tool for medical diagnosis.

Conclusion

Our macro is reliable and suitable for the study of human skeletal muscle for research and for diagnosis in clinical settings providing reproducible and consistent analysis when the time is of the utmost importance.

Electronic supplementary material

The online version of this article (10.1186/s13395-019-0200-7) contains supplementary material, which is available to authorized users.

Muscle Fiber Splitting Is a Physiological Response to Extreme Loading in Animals

Skeletal muscle fiber branching and splitting typically is associated with damage and regeneration and is considered pathological when observed during loading-induced hypertrophy. We hypothesize that fiber splitting is a nonpathological component of extreme loading and hypertrophy, which is primarily supported by evidence in animals, and propose that the mechanisms and consequences of fiber splitting deserve further exploration.

Life-long reduction in myomiR expression does not adversely affect skeletal muscle morphology

We generated an inducible, skeletal muscle-specific Dicer knockout mouse to deplete microRNAs in adult skeletal muscle. Following tamoxifen treatment, Dicer mRNA expression was significantly decreased by 87%. Wild-type (WT) and Dicer knockout (KO) mice were subjected to either synergist ablation or hind limb suspension for two weeks. There was no difference in muscle weight with hypertrophy or atrophy between WT and KO groups; however, even with the significant loss of Dicer expression, myomiR (miR-1, -133a and -206) expression was only reduced by 38% on average. We next aged WT and KO mice for ~22 months following Dicer inactivation to determine if myomiR expression would be further reduced over a prolonged timeframe and assess the effects of myomiR depletion on skeletal muscle phenotype. Skeletal muscle Dicer mRNA expression remained significantly decreased by 80% in old KO mice and sequencing of cloned Dicer mRNA revealed the complete absence of the floxed exons in KO skeletal muscle. Despite a further reduction of myomiR expression to ~50% of WT, no change was observed in muscle morphology between WT and KO groups. These results indicate the life-long reduction in myomiR levels did not adversely affect skeletal muscle phenotype and suggest the possibility that microRNA expression is uniquely regulated in skeletal muscle.

A Critical Evaluation of the Biological Construct Skeletal Muscle Hypertrophy: Size Matters but So Does the Measurement

Skeletal muscle is highly adaptable and has consistently been shown to morphologically respond to exercise training. Skeletal muscle growth during periods of resistance training has traditionally been referred to as skeletal muscle hypertrophy, and this manifests as increases in muscle mass, muscle thickness, muscle area, muscle volume, and muscle fiber cross-sectional area (fCSA). Delicate electron microscopy and biochemical techniques have also been used to demonstrate that resistance exercise promotes ultrastructural adaptations within muscle fibers. Decades of research in this area of exercise physiology have promulgated a widespread hypothetical model of training-induced skeletal muscle hypertrophy; specifically, fCSA increases are accompanied by proportional increases in myofibrillar protein, leading to an expansion in the number of sarcomeres in parallel and/or an increase in myofibril number. However, there is ample evidence to suggest that myofibrillar protein concentration may be diluted through sarcoplasmic expansion as fCSA increases occur. Furthermore, and perhaps more problematic, are numerous investigations reporting that pre-to-post training change scores in macroscopic, microscopic, and molecular variables supporting this model are often poorly associated with one another. The current review first provides a brief description of skeletal muscle composition and structure. We then provide a historical overview of muscle hypertrophy assessment. Next, current-day methods commonly used to assess skeletal muscle hypertrophy at the biochemical, ultramicroscopic, microscopic, macroscopic, and whole-body levels in response to training are examined. Data from our laboratory, and others, demonstrating correlations (or the lack thereof) between these variables are also presented, and reasons for comparative discrepancies are discussed with particular attention directed to studies reporting ultrastructural and muscle protein concentration alterations. Finally, we critically evaluate the biological construct of skeletal muscle hypertrophy, propose potential operational definitions, and provide suggestions for consideration in hopes of guiding future research in this area.

Elevated myonuclear density during skeletal muscle hypertrophy in response to training is reversed during detraining

Myonuclei gained during exercise-induced skeletal muscle hypertrophy may be long-lasting and could facilitate future muscle adaptability after deconditioning, a concept colloquially termed "muscle memory." The evidence for this is limited, mostly due to the lack of a murine exercise-training paradigm that is nonsurgical and reversible. To address this limitation, we developed a novel progressive weighted-wheel-running (PoWeR) model of murine exercise training to test whether myonuclei gained during exercise persist after detraining. We hypothesized that myonuclei acquired during training-induced hypertrophy would remain following loss of muscle mass with detraining. Singly housed female C57BL/6J mice performed 8 wk of PoWeR, while another group performed 8 wk of PoWeR followed by 12 wk of detraining. Age-matched sedentary cage-dwelling mice served as untrained controls. Eight weeks of PoWeR yielded significant plantaris muscle fiber hypertrophy, a shift to a more oxidative phenotype, and greater myonuclear density than untrained mice. After 12 wk of detraining, the plantaris muscle returned to an untrained phenotype with fewer myonuclei. A finding of fewer myonuclei simultaneously with plantaris deconditioning argues against a muscle memory mechanism mediated by elevated myonuclear density in primarily fast-twitch muscle. PoWeR is a novel, practical, and easy-to-deploy approach for eliciting robust hypertrophy in mice, and our findings can inform future research on the mechanisms underlying skeletal muscle adaptive potential and muscle memory.

Integrated method for quantitative morphometry and oxygen transport modeling in striated muscle

Identifying structural limitations in O2 transport is primarily restricted by current methods employed to characterize the nature of physiological remodeling. Inadequate resolution or breadth of available data has impaired development of routine diagnostic protocols and effective therapeutic strategies. Understanding O2 transport within striated muscle faces major challenges, most notably in quantifying how well individual fibers are supplied by the microcirculation, which has necessitated exploring tissue O2 supply using theoretical modeling of diffusive exchange. With capillary domains identified as a suitable model for the description of local O2 supply and requiring less computation than numerically calculating the trapping regions that are supplied by each capillary via biophysical transport models, we sought to design a high-throughput method for histological analysis. We present an integrated package that identifies optimal protocols for identification of important input elements, processing of digitized images with semiautomated routines, and incorporation of these data into a mathematical modeling framework with computed output visualized as the tissue partial pressure of O2 (Po2) distribution across a biopsy sample. Worked examples are provided using muscle samples from experiments involving rats and humans.

NEW & NOTEWORTHY Progress in quantitative morphometry and analytical modeling has tended to develop independently. Real diagnostic power lies in harnessing both disciplines within one user-friendly package. We present a semiautomated, high-throughput tool for determining muscle phenotype from biopsy material, which also provides anatomically relevant input to quantify tissue oxygenation, in a coherent package not previously available to nonspecialist investigators.

Open-CSAM, a new tool for semi-automated analysis of myofiber cross-sectional area in regenerating adult skeletal muscle

Adult skeletal muscle is capable of complete regeneration after an acute injury. The main parameter studied to assess muscle regeneration efficacy is the cross-sectional area (CSA) of the myofibers as myofiber size correlates with muscle force. CSA analysis can be time-consuming and may trigger variability in the results when performed manually. This is why programs were developed to completely automate the analysis of the CSA, such as SMASH, MyoVision, or MuscleJ softwares. Although these softwares are efficient to measure CSA on normal or hypertrophic/atrophic muscle, they fail to efficiently measure CSA on regenerating muscles. We developed Open-CSAM, an ImageJ macro, to perform a high throughput semi-automated analysis of CSA on skeletal muscle from various experimental conditions. The macro allows the experimenter to adjust the analysis and correct the mistakes done by the automation, which is not possible with fully automated programs. We showed that Open-CSAM was more accurate to measure CSA in regenerating and dystrophic muscles as compared with SMASH, MyoVision, and MuscleJ softwares and that the inter-experimenter variability was negligible. We also showed that, to obtain a representative CSA measurement, it was necessary to analyze the whole muscle section and not randomly selected pictures, a process that was easily and accurately be performed using Open-CSAM. To conclude, we show here an easy and experimenter-controlled tool to measure CSA in muscles from any experimental condition, including regenerating muscle.

Loss of peroxiredoxin-2 exacerbates eccentric contraction-induced force loss in dystrophin-deficient muscle

Force loss in skeletal muscle exposed to eccentric contraction is often attributed to injury. We show that EDL muscles from dystrophin-deficient mdx mice recover 65% of lost force within 120 min of eccentric contraction and exhibit minimal force loss when the interval between contractions is increased from 3 to 30 min. A proteomic screen of mdx muscle identified an 80% reduction in the antioxidant peroxiredoxin-2, likely due to proteolytic degradation following hyperoxidation by NADPH Oxidase 2. Eccentric contraction-induced force loss in mdx muscle was exacerbated by peroxiredoxin-2 ablation, and improved by peroxiredoxin-2 overexpression or myoglobin knockout. Finally, overexpression of γcyto- or βcyto-actin protects mdx muscle from eccentric contraction-induced force loss by blocking NADPH Oxidase 2 through a mechanism dependent on cysteine 272 unique to cytoplasmic actins. Our data suggest that eccentric contraction-induced force loss may function as an adaptive circuit breaker that protects mdx muscle from injurious contractions.