Roles of mu-calpain in cultured L8 muscle cells: application of a skeletal muscle-specific gene expression system

The Role of Calpains in Skeletal Muscle Remodeling with Exercise and Inactivity-induced Atrophy

Calpains are cysteine proteases expressed in skeletal muscle fibers and other cells. Although calpain was first reported to act as a kinase activating factor in skeletal muscle, the consensus is now that calpains play a canonical role in protein turnover. However, recent evidence reveals new and exciting roles for calpains in skeletal muscle. This review will discuss the functions of calpains in skeletal muscle remodeling in response to both exercise and inactivity-induced muscle atrophy. Calpains participate in protein turnover and muscle remodeling by selectively cleaving target proteins and creating fragmented proteins that can be further degraded by other proteolytic systems. Nonetheless, an often overlooked function of calpains is that calpain-mediated cleavage of proteins can result in fragmented proteins that are biologically active and have the potential to actively influence cell signaling. In this manner, calpains function beyond their roles in protein turnover and influence downstream signaling effects. This review will highlight both the canonical and noncanonical roles that calpains play in skeletal muscle remodeling including sarcomere transformation, membrane repair, triad junction formation, regulation of excitation-contraction coupling, protein turnover, cell signaling, and mitochondrial function. We conclude with a discussion of key unanswered questions regarding the roles that calpains play in skeletal muscle.

Early dystrophin loss is coincident with the transition of compensated cardiac hypertrophy to heart failure

Hypertension causes cardiac hypertrophy, one of the most important risk factors for heart failure (HF). Despite the importance of cardiac hypertrophy as a risk factor for the development of HF, not all hypertrophied hearts will ultimately fail. Alterations of cytoskeletal and sarcolemma-associated proteins are considered markers cardiac remodeling during HF. Dystrophin provides mechanical stability to the plasma membrane through its interactions with the actin cytoskeleton and, indirectly, to extracellular matrix proteins. This study was undertaken to evaluate dystrophin and calpain-1 in the transition from compensated cardiac hypertrophy to HF. Wistar rats were subjected to abdominal aorta constriction and killed at 30, 60 and 90 days post surgery (dps). Cardiac function and blood pressure were evaluated. The hearts were collected and Western blotting and immunofluorescence performed for dystrophin, calpain-1, alpha-fodrin and calpastatin. Statistical analyses were performed and considered significant when p<0.05. After 90 dps, 70% of the animals showed hypertrophic hearts (HH) and 30% hypertrophic+dilated hearts (HD). Systolic and diastolic functions were preserved at 30 and 60 dps, however, decreased in the HD group. Blood pressure, cardiomyocyte diameter and collagen content were increased at all time points. Dystrophin expression was lightly increased at 30 and 60 dps and HH group. HD group showed decreased expression of dystrophin and calpastatin and increased expression of calpain-1 and alpha-fodrin fragments. The first signals of dystrophin reduction were observed as early as 60 dps. In conclusion, some hearts present a distinct molecular pattern at an early stage of the disease; this pattern could provide an opportunity to identify these failure-prone hearts during the development of the cardiac disease. We showed that decreased expression of dystrophin and increased expression of calpains are coincident and could work as possible therapeutic targets to prevent heart failure as a consequence of cardiac hypertrophy.

Calpain inhibition attenuated morphological and molecular changes in skeletal muscle of experimental allergic encephalomyelitis rats

Muscle weakness and atrophy are important manifestations of multiple sclerosis (MS). To investigate the pathophysiological mechanisms of skeletal muscle change in MS, we induced experimental autoimmune encephalomyelitis (EAE) in Lewis male rats and examined morphological and molecular changes in skeletal muscle. We also treated EAE rats with calpepetin, a calpain inhibitor, to examine its beneficial effects on skeletal muscle damage. Morphological changes in muscle tissue of EAE rats included smaller and irregularly shaped muscle fibers and fibrosis. Western blot analysis demonstrated increased calpain:calpastatin ratio, inflammation-related transcription factors (nuclear factor-κB:inhibitor of κB α ratio), and proinflammatory enzymes (cyclooxygenase-2). TUNEL-positive myonuclei in skeletal muscle cells of EAE rats indicated cell death. In addition, markers of apoptotic cell death (Bax:Bcl-2 ratio and caspase-12 protein levels) were elevated. Expression of muscle-specific ubiquitin ligases (muscle atrophy F-box and muscle ring finger protein 1), was upregulated in muscle tissue of EAE-vehicle animals. Both prophylactic and therapeutic treatment with calpeptin partially attenuated muscle changes noted in EAE animals. These results indicate that morphological and molecular changes including apoptotic cell death and protein breakdown develop in skeletal muscle of EAE animals and that these changes can be reversed by calpain inhibition.

Expression of atrophy mRNA relates to tendon tear size in supraspinatus muscle

Skeletal muscle atrophy and fatty infiltration develop after tendon tearing. The extent of atrophy serves as one prognostic factor for the outcome of surgical repair of rotator cuff tendon tears. We asked whether mRNA of genes involved in regulation of degradative processes leading to muscle atrophy, ie, FOXOs, MSTN, calpains, cathepsins, and transcripts of the ubiquitin-proteasome pathway, are overexpressed in the supraspinatus muscle in patients with and without rotator cuff tears. We evaluated biopsy specimens collected during surgery of 53 consecutive patients with different sizes of rotator cuff tendon tears and six without tears. The levels of corresponding gene transcripts in total RNA extracts were assessed by semiquantitative reverse transcriptase-polymerase chain reaction (RT-PCR) analysis. Supraspinatus muscle atrophy was assessed by MRI. The area of muscle tissue (or atrophy), decreased (increased) with increasing tendon tear size. The transcripts of CAPN1, UBE2B, and UBE3A were upregulated more than twofold in massive rotator cuff tears as opposed to smaller tears or patients without tears. These atrophy gene products may be involved in cellular processes that impair functional recovery of affected muscles after surgical rotator cuff repair. However, the damaging effects of gene products in their respective proteolytic processes on muscle structures and proteins remains to be investigated.

Repairing process in the transected muscle fibers of the mouse tibialis anterior

Repairing process at the injury site in the transected muscle fibers of the mouse tibialis anterior was studied by light and electron microscopy. Immediately after the transection, the cut end (approximately 10 µm) was filled with dense network of disorganized myofilaments, in which disrupted membranous structures and degraded mitochondria were scattered. In the portion next to the portion exhibiting sudden necrotic changes, morphological features of the myofilaments, mitochondria and membranous structures appeared to be almost normal. The degradation of disorganized myofilaments at the cut end began within 1 hour after the transection, and at 1hour after the transection, the degenerating areas were noted in most of muscle fibers up to 150-250 µm from the cut end. Following the degradation, accumulation of mitochondria occurred between the necrotic and myofilament-predominant living portions, and several transverse tubules (T-tubules) and sarcoplasmic reticula were found between the mitochondria-accumulated and myofilament-predominant areas. In most cases, demarcation membrane formed between the mitochondria-accumulated and myofilament-predominant areas, and the fusion of T-tubules and sarcoplasmic reticula was encountered in these areas, suggesting that at least some parts of the demarcation membranes formed through fusion of T-tubules and sarcoplasmic reticula. This repairing process was completed in a number of muscle fibers within 6 hours after the transection. Macrophages were first found in the injured portions at 6 hours after the transection, increased in number with time, and several macrophages were distributed at 1 to 3 days after the transection. Some spindle-shaped cells were first found in the degenerating portions of the muscle fibers at 1 day after the transection. Since they were located along the basal lamina of the muscle fiber, and had a long oval pale nucleus and relatively abundant cytoplasm, they can be regarded as activated satellite cells. They gradually increased in number with time, and became larger and longer. On and after 5 days, thin regenerating muscle fibers exhibiting centrally located nuclei were observed, and they became gradually thicker with time. These findings indicate that the muscle regeneration was actively occurring during these periods. The repairing process is followed by the invasion of macrophages, and then the occurrence of muscle regeneration in the sequential order. These findings suggest that there might be close chronological relationship among these events.

Calpains in muscle wasting

Calpains are intracellular nonlysosomal Ca(2+)-regulated cysteine proteases. They mediate regulatory cleavages of specific substrates in a large number of processes during the differentiation, life and death of the cell. The purpose of this review is to synthesize our current understanding of the participation of calpains in muscle atrophy. Muscle tissue expresses mainly three different calpains: the ubiquitous calpains and calpain 3. The participation of the ubiquitous calpains in the initial degradation of myofibrillar proteins occurring in muscle atrophy as well as in the necrosis process accompanying muscular dystrophies has been well characterized. Inactivating mutations in the calpain 3 gene are responsible for limb-girdle muscular dystrophy type 2A and calpain 3 has been found to be downregulated in different atrophic situations, suggesting that it has to be absent for the atrophy to occur. The fact that similar regulations of calpain activities occur during exercise as well as in atrophy led us to propose that the calpains control cytoskeletal modifications needed for muscle plasticity.

Involvement of micro-calpain (CAPN 1) in muscle cell differentiation

Several studies have already demonstrated that micro- and milli-calpains (CAPN 1-CAPN 2), calcium-dependent intracellular cysteine-proteases are involved in many biological phenomenon including muscle growth and development. More particularly, recent studies have demonstrated that milli-calpain is implicated in myoblast fusion. Moreover, in primary muscle cells, these proteases do not appear simultaneously throughout muscle cell differentiation. Because micro- and milli-calpains do not have the same intracellular localization, it appears likely that these two calcium-dependent proteases have different biological roles during muscle cell differentiation. The goal of this study is to determine the role of micro-calpain. We therefore, have developed a muscle cell line in which micro-calpain is over-expressed, using the inducible Tet Regulated Expression System. The outcome is observed by following the behavior of different proteins, considered to be potential substrates of the protease. The present study shows important decreases in the expression level of ezrin (68%), vimentin (64%) and caveolin 3 (76%) whereas many other cytoskeletal proteins remain remarkably stable. Concerning the myogenic transcription factors, only the level of myogenin decreased (59%) after the over-expression of micro-calpain. Ultra structural studies have shown that the myofibrils formed near the cell periphery are normally oriented, lying along the longitudinal axis. This regularity is lost progressively towards the cell center where the cytoskeleton presented an increasing disorganization. All these results indicate that micro-calpain is involved in regulation pathway of myogenesis via at least its action on ezrin, vimentin, caveolin 3 and myogenin, a muscle transcription factor.