Changes in the mRNA expressions of insulin-like growth factors, their receptors, and binding proteins during the postnatal development of rat masseter muscle

Muscle Transcriptome Analysis of Mink at Different Growth Stages Using RNA-Seq

Mink is a kind of small and precious fur animal resource. In this study, we employed transcriptomics technology to analyze the gene expression profile of mink pectoral muscle tissue, thereby elucidating the regulatory mechanisms underlying mink growth and development. Consequently, a total of 25,954 gene expression profiles were acquired throughout the growth and development stages of mink at 45, 90, and 120 days. Among these profiles, 2607 genes exhibited significant differential expression (|log2(fold change)| ≥ 2 and p_adj < 0.05). GO and KEGG enrichment analyses revealed that the differentially expressed genes were primarily associated with the mitotic cell cycle process, response to growth factors, muscle organ development, and insulin resistance. Furthermore, GSEA enrichment analysis demonstrated a significant enrichment of differentially expressed genes in the p53 signaling pathway at 45 days of age. Subsequent analysis revealed that genes associated with embryonic development (e.g., PEG10, IGF2, NRK), cell cycle regulation (e.g., CDK6, CDC6, CDC27, CCNA2), and the FGF family (e.g., FGF2, FGF6, FGFR2) were all found to be upregulated at 45 days of age in mink, which suggested a potential role for these genes in governing early growth and developmental processes. Conversely, genes associated with skeletal muscle development (PRVA, TNNI1, TNNI2, MYL3, MUSTN1), a negative regulator of the cell cycle gene (CDKN2C), and IGFBP6 were found to be up-regulated at 90 days of age, suggesting their potential involvement in the rapid growth of mink. In summary, our experimental data provide robust support for elucidating the regulatory mechanisms underlying the growth and development of mink.

The expressions of insulin-like growth factors, their receptors, and binding proteins are related to the mechanism regulating masseter muscle mass in the rat

OBJECTIVE

The mechanism regulating skeletal muscle mass is unclear. The purpose of the present study was to investigate the extent to which insulin-like growth factors (IGFs), their receptors (IGFRs), and binding proteins (IGFBPs) are involved in the regulation of skeletal muscle mass.

DESIGN

We measured the mRNA expression levels for IGFs, IGFRs, and IGFBPs in the rat masseter muscle hypertrophied by oral administration of clenbuterol for 3 weeks and determined the correlations between the weight of masseter muscle and the mRNA expression levels.

RESULTS

The mRNA expression levels for IGF-I and II, IGFR1 and 2, and IGFBP4 and 6 showed clenbuterol-induced elevations and positive correlations with the weight of masseter muscle. That for IGFBP3 only exhibited a clenbuterol-induced decrease and a strong negative correlation with the weight of masseter muscle. The mRNA expression levels for IGFBP2 and 5 showed no significant changes between the control and clenbuterol groups, and no significant correlations. IGFBP1 mRNA was not detectable.

CONCLUSION

These results suggest that IGF-I, II, IGFR1 and 2, and IGFBP3, 4 and 6 are related to the mechanism regulating masseter muscle mass in the rat.

Effects of diet consistency on the expression of insulin-like growth factors (IGFs), IGF receptors and IGF binding proteins during the development of rat masseter muscle soon after weaning

A soft diet facilitates the development of faster-type fibres in rat masseter muscle in the 9 days after weaning compared with a hard diet. To determine whether insulin-like growth factors (IGFs), IGF receptors (IGFRs) and IGF binding proteins (IGFBPs) are involved in this fibre-type alteration, the expression of myosin heavy chain (MHC), IGF, IGFR and IGFBP mRNAs in the masseter muscle of rats fed a hard or soft diet for 9 days after weaning was analysed using competitive, reverse transcriptase-polymerase chain reaction. A soft diet decreased the expression of MHC IIa (slower type) by 70%, but increased the expression of MHC IIx (intermediate type) and IIb (faster type) by 80 and 582%, respectively, compared with a hard diet. These findings verified that a soft diet facilitates the development of faster-type fibres in rat masseter muscle compared with a hard diet. A soft diet induced reductions of 25-76% (P < 0.05-0.01) in the expression of IGF-I, IGF-II, IGFR2, IGFBP4 and IGFBP6 compared with a hard diet, but induced a 25% (P < 0.05) increase only in expression of IGFBP3. These findings suggest that the changes in expression of IGF-I, IGF-II, IGFR2, IGFBP3, IGFBP4 and IGFBP6 are associated with the fibre-type alteration of rat masseter muscle in response to diet consistency soon after weaning.

Biology of insulin-like growth factors in development

Insulin-like growth factors (IGFs) provide essential signals for the control of embryonic and postnatal development in vertebrate species. In mammals, IGFs act through and are regulated by a system of receptors, binding proteins, and related proteases. In each of the many tissues dependent on this family of growth factors, this system generates a complex interaction specific to the tissue concerned. Studies carried out over the last decade, mostly with transgenic and gene knockout mouse models, have demonstrated considerable variety in the cell type-specific and developmental stage-specific functions of IGF signals. Brain, muscle, bone, cartilage, pancreas, ovary, skin, and fat tissue have been identified as major in vivo targets for IGFs. Concentrating on several of these organ systems, we review here phenotypic analyses of mice with genetically modified IGF systems. Much progress has also been made in understanding the specific intracellular signaling cascades initiated by the binding of circulating IGFs to their cognate receptor. We also summarize the most relevant aspects of this research. Considerable efforts are currently focused on deciphering the functional specificities of intracellular pathways, particularly the molecular mechanisms by which cells distinguish growth-stimulating insulin-like signals from metabolic insulin signals. Finally, there is a growing body of evidence implicating IGF signaling in lifespan control, and it has recently been shown that this function has been conserved throughout evolution. Very rapid progress in this domain seems to indicate that longevity may be subject to IGF-dependent neuroendocrine regulation and that certain periods of the life cycle may be particularly important in the determination of individual lifespan.