Comparative Analysis of Muscle Hypertrophy Models Reveals Divergent Gene Transcription Profiles and Points to Translational Regulation of Muscle Growth through Increased mTOR Signaling

Exploring the effect and mechanism of Aloin A against cancer cachexia-induced muscle atrophy via network pharmacology, molecular docking, molecular dynamics and experimental validation

80% of advanced cancer patients suffer from cachexia, but there are no FDA-approved drugs. Therefore, it is imperative to discover potential drugs.

OBJECTIVE

This study aims at exploring the effect and targets of Aloin A against cancer cachexia (CC)-induced muscle atrophy.

METHODS

Network pharmacology, molecular docking, molecular dynamics (MD) and animal model of CC-induced muscle atrophy with a series of behavior tests, muscle quality, HE staining and RT-PCR were performed to investigate the anticachectic effects and targets of Aloin A and its molecular mechanism.

RESULTS

Based on network pharmacology, 51 potential targets of Aloin A on CC-induced muscle atrophy were found, and then 10 hub genes were predicted by the PPI network. Next, KEGG and GO enrichment analysis showed that the anticachectic effect of Aloin A is associated with PI3K-AKT, MAPK, TNF, TLR, etc., pathways, and biological processes like inflammation, apoptosis and cell proliferation. Molecular docking and MD results showed good binding ability between the Aloin A and key targets. Moreover, experiments in vivo demonstrated that Aloin A effectively rescued muscle function and wasting by improving muscle quality, mean CSA, and distribution of muscle fibers by regulating HSP90AA1/AKT signaling in tumor-bearing mice.

CONCLUSION

This study offers new insights for researchers to understand the effect and mechanism of Aloin A against CC using network pharmacology, molecular docking, MD and experimental validation, and Aloin A retards CC-induced muscle wasting through multiple targets and pathways, including HSP90AA1/AKT signaling, which provides evidence for Aloin A as a potential therapy for cancer cachexia in clinic.

Effect of breed and diet on the M. longissimus thoracis et lumborum transcriptome of steers divergent for residual feed intake

Improving cattle feed efficiency through selection of residual feed intake (RFI) is a widely accepted approach to sustainable beef production. A greater understanding of the molecular control of RFI in various breeds offered contrasting diets is necessary for the accurate identification of feed efficient animals and will underpin accelerated genetic improvement of the trait. The aim of this study was to determine genes and biological processes contributing to RFI across varying breed type and dietary sources in skeletal muscle tissue. Residual feed intake was calculated in Charolais and Holstein-Friesian steers across multiple dietary phases (phase-1: high concentrate (growing-phase); phase-2: zero-grazed grass (growing-phase); phase-3: high concentrate (finishing-phase). Steers divergent for RFI within each breed and dietary phase were selected for muscle biopsy collection, and muscle samples subsequently subjected to RNAseq analysis. No gene was consistently differentially expressed across the breed and diet types examined. However, pathway analysis revealed commonality across breeds and diets for biological processes including fatty acid metabolism, immune function, energy production and muscle growth. Overall, the lack of commonality of individual genes towards variation in RFI both within the current study and compared to the published literature, suggests other genomic features warrant further evaluation in relation to RFI.

Mining of chicken muscle growth genes and the function of important candidate gene RPL3L in muscle development

The birth weight of chickens does not significantly affect the weight at slaughter, while the different growth rate after birth was one of the important reasons for the difference in slaughter weight. Also, the increase in chickens' postnatal skeletal muscle weight is the main cause of the slaughter weight gain, but which genes are involved in this biological process is still unclear. In this study, by integrating four transcriptome datasets containing chicken muscles at different developmental times or different chicken tissues in public databases, a total of nine candidate genes that may be related to postnatal muscle development in chickens were obtained, including RPL3L, FBP2, ASB4, ASB15, CKMT2, PGAM1, YIPF7, PFKM, and LDHA. One of these candidate genes is RPL3L, whose 42 bp insertion/deletion (indel) mutation significantly correlated with multiple carcass traits in the F2 resource population from Xinghua chickens crossing with White Recessive Rock (WRR) chickens, including live weight, carcass weight, half eviscerated weight, eviscerated weight, breast meat weight, wing weight, leg muscle shear force, and breast muscle shear force. Also, there was a very significant difference between different genotypes of the RPL3L 42 bp indel mutation in these trains. Further experiments showed that RPL3L was highly expressed in chicken skeletal muscle, and its overexpression could promote the proliferation and inhibit the differentiation of chicken myoblasts by regulating ASB4 and ASB15 expression. Our findings demonstrated that the RPL3L 42 bp indel may be one of the molecular markers of chicken weight-related traits.

Pharmacological hypogonadism impairs molecular transducers of exercise-induced muscle growth in humans

BACKGROUND

The relative role of skeletal muscle mechano-transduction in comparison with systemic hormones, such as testosterone (T), in regulating hypertrophic responses to exercise is contentious. We investigated the mechanistic effects of chemical endogenous T depletion adjuvant to 6 weeks of resistance exercise training (RET) on muscle mass, function, myogenic regulatory factors, and muscle anabolic signalling in younger men.

METHODS

Non-hypogonadal men (n = 16; 18-30 years) were randomized in a double-blinded fashion to receive placebo (P, saline n = 8) or the GnRH analogue, Goserelin [Zoladex (Z), 3.6 mg, n = 8], injections, before 6 weeks of supervised whole-body RET. Participants underwent dual-energy X-ray absorptiometry (DXA), ultrasound of m. vastus lateralis (VL), and VL biopsies for assessment of cumulative muscle protein synthesis (MPS), myogenic gene expression, and anabolic signalling pathway responses.

RESULTS

Zoladex suppressed endogenous T to within the hypogonadal range and was well tolerated; suppression was associated with blunted fat free mass [Z: 55.4 ± 2.8 to 55.8 ± 3.1 kg, P = 0.61 vs. P: 55.9 ± 1.7 to 57.4 ± 1.7 kg, P = 0.006, effect size (ES) = 0.31], composite strength (Z: 40 ± 2.3% vs. P: 49.8 ± 3.3%, P = 0.03, ES = 1.4), and muscle thickness (Z: 2.7 ± 0.4 to 2.69 ± 0.36 cm, P > 0.99 vs. P: 2.74 ± 0.32 to 2.91 ± 0.32 cm, P < 0.0001, ES = 0.48) gains. Hypogonadism attenuated molecular transducers of muscle growth related to T metabolism (e.g. androgen receptor: Z: 1.2 fold, P > 0.99 vs. P: 1.9 fold, P < 0.0001, ES = 0.85), anabolism/myogenesis (e.g. IGF-1Ea: Z: 1.9 fold, P = 0.5 vs. P: 3.3 fold, P = 0.0005, ES = 0.72; IGF-1Ec: Z: 2 fold, P > 0.99 vs. P: 4.7 fold, P = 0.0005, ES = 0.68; myogenin: Z: 1.3 fold, P > 0.99 vs. P: 2.7 fold, P = 0.002, ES = 0.72), RNA/DNA (Z: 0.47 ± 0.03 to 0.53 ± 0.03, P = 0.31 vs. P: 0.50 ± 0.01 to 0.64 ± 0.04, P = 0.003, ES = 0.72), and RNA/ASP (Z: 5.8 ± 0.4 to 6.8 ± 0.5, P > 0.99 vs. P: 6.5 ± 0.2 to 8.9 ± 1.1, P = 0.008, ES = 0.63) ratios, as well as acute RET-induced phosphorylation of growth signalling proteins (e.g. AKT^ser473 : Z: 2.74 ± 0.6, P = 0.2 vs. P: 5.5 ± 1.1 fold change, P < 0.001, ES = 0.54 and mTORC1^ser2448 : Z: 1.9 ± 0.8, P > 0.99 vs. P: 3.6 ± 1 fold change, P = 0.002, ES = 0.53). Both MPS (Z: 1.45 ± 0.11 to 1.50 ± 0.06%·day^-1 , P = 0.99 vs. P: 1.5 ± 0.12 to 2.0 ± 0.15%·day^-1 , P = 0.01, ES = 0.97) and (extrapolated) muscle protein breakdown (Z: 93.16 ± 7.8 vs. P: 129.1 ± 13.8 g·day^-1 , P = 0.04, ES = 0.92) were reduced with hypogonadism result in lower net protein turnover (3.9 ± 1.1 vs. 1.2 ± 1.1 g·day^-1 , P = 0.04, ES = 0.95).

CONCLUSIONS

We conclude that endogenous T sufficiency has a central role in the up-regulation of molecular transducers of RET-induced muscle hypertrophy in humans that cannot be overcome by muscle mechano-transduction alone.

Activation of Akt-mTORC1 signalling reverts cancer-dependent muscle wasting

BACKGROUND

Cancer-related muscle wasting occurs in most cancer patients. An important regulator of adult muscle mass and function is the Akt-mTORC1 pathway. While Akt-mTORC1 signalling is important for adult muscle homeostasis, it is also a major target of numerous cancer treatments. Which role Akt-mTORC1 signalling plays during cancer cachexia in muscle is currently not known. Here, we aimed to determine how activation or inactivation of the pathway affects skeletal muscle during cancer cachexia.

METHODS

We used inducible, muscle-specific Raptor ko (mTORC1) mice to determine the effect of reduced mTOR signalling during cancer cachexia. On the contrary, in order to understand if skeletal muscles maintain their anabolic capacity and if activation of Akt-mTORC1 signalling can reverse cancer cachexia, we generated mice in which we can inducibly activate Akt specifically in skeletal muscles.

RESULTS

We found that mTORC1 signalling is impaired during cancer cachexia, using the Lewis lung carcinoma and C26 colon cancer model, and is accompanied by a reduction in protein synthesis rates of 57% (P < 0.01). Further reduction of mTOR signalling, as seen in Raptor ko animals, leads to a 1.5-fold increase in autophagic flux (P > 0.001), but does not further increase muscle wasting. On the other hand, activation of Akt-mTORC1 signalling in already cachectic animals completely reverses the 15-20% loss in muscle mass and force (P < 0.001). Interestingly, Akt activation only in skeletal muscle completely normalizes the transcriptional deregulation observed in cachectic muscle, despite having no effect on tumour size or spleen mass. In addition to stimulating muscle growth, it is also sufficient to prevent the increase in protein degradation normally observed in muscles from tumour-bearing animals.

CONCLUSIONS

Here, we show that activation of Akt-mTORC1 signalling is sufficient to completely revert cancer-dependent muscle wasting. Intriguingly, these results show that skeletal muscle maintains its anabolic capacities also during cancer cachexia, possibly giving a rationale behind some of the beneficial effects observed in exercise in cancer patients.

Aerobic Exercise Training and In Vivo Akt Activation Counteract Cancer Cachexia by Inducing a Hypertrophic Profile through eIF-2α Modulation

Simple Summary

Chronic disease-related muscle atrophy is a serious public health problem since it reduces mobility and contributes to increases in hospitalization costs. Unfortunately, there is no approved treatment for muscle wasting at present. Thus, an understanding of the mechanisms underlying the control of muscle mass and function under chronic diseases can pave the way for the discovery of innovative therapeutic strategies to counteract muscle wasting. Since numerous types of cancer induce cachexia, which has no cure nor an effective treatment, the main proposal here was to study the effects of AET in cancer cachexia, and to investigate, through in vivo manipulation of the Akt/mTORC1 pathway, whether the cachectic muscle still presents conditions to respond adaptively to hypertrophic stimuli. Our results could provide a basis for innovative research lines to better understand muscle plasticity and to investigate potential therapeutic approaches necessary to prevent muscle loss.

Abstract

Cancer cachexia is a multifactorial and devastating syndrome characterized by severe skeletal muscle mass loss and dysfunction. As cachexia still has neither a cure nor an effective treatment, better understanding of skeletal muscle plasticity in the context of cancer is of great importance. Although aerobic exercise training (AET) has been shown as an important complementary therapy for chronic diseases and associated comorbidities, the impact of AET on skeletal muscle mass maintenance during cancer progression has not been well documented yet. Here, we show that previous AET induced a protective mechanism against tumor-induced muscle wasting by modulating the Akt/mTORC1 signaling and eukaryotic initiation factors, specifically eIF2-α. Thereafter, it was determined whether the in vivo Akt activation would induce a hypertrophic profile in cachectic muscles. As observed for the first time, Akt-induced hypertrophy was able and sufficient to either prevent or revert cancer cachexia by modulating both Akt/mTORC1 pathway and the eIF-2α activation, and induced a better muscle functionality. These findings provide evidence that skeletal muscle tissue still preserves hypertrophic potential to be stimulated by either AET or gene therapy to counteract cancer cachexia.

Raptor is critical for increasing the mitochondrial proteome and skeletal muscle force during hypertrophy

Loss of skeletal muscle mass and force is of critical importance in numerous pathologies, like age-related sarcopenia or cancer. It has been shown that the Akt-mTORC1 pathway is critical for stimulating adult muscle mass and function, however, it is unknown if mTORC1 is the only mediator downstream of Akt and which intracellular processes are required for functional muscle growth. Here, we show that loss of Raptor reduces muscle hypertrophy after Akt activation and completely prevents increases in muscle force. Interestingly, the residual hypertrophy after Raptor deletion can be completely prevented by administration of the mTORC1 inhibitor rapamycin. Using a quantitative proteomics approach we find that loss of Raptor affects the increases in mitochondrial proteins, while rapamycin mainly affects ribosomal proteins. Taken together, these results suggest that mTORC1 is the key mediator of Akt-dependent muscle growth and its regulation of the mitochondrial proteome is critical for increasing muscle force.

Molecular Mechanisms of Skeletal Muscle Hypertrophy

Skeletal muscle hypertrophy can be induced by hormones and growth factors acting directly as positive regulators of muscle growth or indirectly by neutralizing negative regulators, and by mechanical signals mediating the effect of resistance exercise. Muscle growth during hypertrophy is controlled at the translational level, through the stimulation of protein synthesis, and at the transcriptional level, through the activation of ribosomal RNAs and muscle-specific genes. mTORC1 has a central role in the regulation of both protein synthesis and ribosomal biogenesis. Several transcription factors and co-activators, including MEF2, SRF, PGC-1α4, and YAP promote the growth of the myofibers. Satellite cell proliferation and fusion is involved in some but not all muscle hypertrophy models.

Concomitant excitation and tension development are required for myocellular gene expression and protein synthesis in rat skeletal muscle

AIM

Loading-induced tension development is often assumed to constitute an independent cue to initiate muscle protein synthesis following resistance exercise. However, with traditional physiological models of resistance exercise, changes in loading-induced tension development also reflect changes in neural activation patterns, and direct evidence for a mechanosensitive mechanism is therefore limited. Here, we sought to examine the importance of excitation and tension development per se on initiation of signalling, gene transcription and protein synthesis in rat skeletal muscle.

METHODS

Isolated rat extensor digitorum longus muscles were allocated to the following interventions: (a) Excitation-induced eccentric contractions (ECC); (b) Passive stretching without excitation (PAS); (c) Excitation with inhibition of contractions (STIM + I_MA ) and; (d) Excitation in combination with both inhibition of contractions and PAS (STIM + I_MA  + PAS). Assessment of transcriptional and translational signalling, gene transcription and acute muscle protein synthesis was compared in stimulated vs contra-lateral non-stimulated control muscle.

RESULTS

Protein synthesis increased solely in muscles subjected to a combination of excitation and tension development (ECC and STIM + I_MA  + PAS). The same pattern was true for p38 mitogen-activated protein kinase signalling for gene transcription as well as for gene transcription of immediate early genes FOS and JUN. In contrast, mechanistic target of rapamycin Complex 1 signalling for translation initiation increased in all muscles subjected to increased tension development (ECC and STIM + I_MA  + PAS as well as PAS).

CONCLUSIONS

The current study suggests that exercise-induced increases in protein synthesis as well as transcriptional signalling is dependent on the concomitant effect of excitation and tension development, whereas signalling for translation initiation is only dependent of tension development per se.

Autonomous climbing: An effective exercise mode with beneficial outcomes of aerobic exercise and resistance training

AIMS

To assess the effects of three specific exercise training modes, aerobic exercise (A), resistance training (R) and autonomous climbing (AC), aimed at proposing a cross-training method, on improving the physical, molecular and metabolic characteristics of mice without many side effects.

MATERIALS AND METHODS

Seven-week-old male mice were randomly divided into four groups: control (C), aerobic exercise (A), resistance training (R), and autonomous climbing (AC) groups. Physical changes in mice were tracked and analysed to explore the similarities and differences of these three exercise modes. Histochemistry, quantitative real-time PCR (RT-PCR), western blot (WB) and metabolomics analysis were performed to identify the underlying relationships among the three training modes.

KEY FINDINGS

Mice in the AC group showed better body weight control, glucose and energy homeostasis. Molecular markers of myogenesis, hypertrophy, antidegradation and mitochondrial function were highly expressed in the muscle of mice after autonomous climbing. The serum metabolomics landscape and enriched pathway comparison indicated that the aerobic oxidation pathway (pentose phosphate pathway, galactose metabolism and fatty acid degradation) and amino acid metabolism pathway (tyrosine, arginine and proline metabolism) were significantly enriched in group AC, suggesting an increased muscle mitochondrial function and protein balance ability of mice after autonomous climbing.

SIGNIFICANCE

We propose a new exercise mode, autonomous climbing, as a convenient but effective training method that combines the beneficial effects of aerobic exercise and resistance training.

The distribution of eukaryotic initiation factor 4E after bouts of resistance exercise is altered by shortening of recovery periods

Insufficient duration of recovery between resistance exercise bouts reduces the effects of exercise training, but the influence on muscle anabolic responses is not fully understood. Here, we investigated the changes in the distribution of eukaryotic initiation factor (eIF) 4E, a key regulator of translation initiation, and related factors in mouse skeletal muscle after three successive bouts of resistance exercise with three durations of recovery periods (72 h: conventional, 24 h: shorter, and 8 h: excessively shorter). Bouts of resistance exercise dissociated eIF4E from eIF4E binding protein 1, with the magnitude increasing with shorter recovery. Whereas bouts of resistance exercise with 72 h recovery increased the association of eIF4E and eIF4G, those with shorter recovery did not. Similar results were observed in muscle protein synthesis. These results suggest that insufficient recovery inhibited the association of eIF4E and eIF4G, which might cause attenuation of protein synthesis activation after bouts of resistance exercise.

Reduction of circulating sphingosine-1-phosphate worsens mdx soleus muscle dystrophic phenotype

NEW FINDINGS

What is the central question of the study? What are the consequences of reducing circulating sphingosine-1-phosphate (S1P) for muscle physiology in the murine model of Duchenne muscular dystrophy (DMD)? What is the main result and its importance? Reduction of the circulating S1P level in mdx mice aggravates the dystrophic phenotype, as seen by an increase in fibre atrophy, fibrosis and loss of specific force, suggesting that S1P signalling is a potential therapeutic target in DMD. Although further studies are needed, plasma S1P levels have the intriguing possibility of being used as a biomarker for disease severity, an important issue in DMD.

ABSTRACT

Sphingosine-1-phosphate (S1P) is an important regulator of skeletal muscle properties. The dystrophin-deficient mdx mouse possesses low levels of S1P (∼50%) compared with wild type. Increased S1P availability was demonstrated to ameliorate the dystrophic phenotype in Drosophila and in mdx mice. Here, we analysed the effects produced by further reduction of S1P availability on the mass, force and regenerative capacity of dystrophic mdx soleus. Circulating S1P was neutralized by a specific anti-S1P antibody (S1P-Ab) known to lower the extracellular concentration of this signalling lipid. The S1P-Ab was administered intraperitoneally in adult mdx mice every 2 days for the duration of experiments. Soleus muscle properties were analysed 7 or 14 days after the first injection. The decreased availability of circulating S1P after the 14 day treatment reduced mdx soleus fibre cross-sectional area (-16%, P < 0.05), an effect that was associated with an increase in markers of proteolytic (MuRF1 and atrogin-1) and autophagic (p62 and LC3-II/LC3-I ratio) pathways. Moreover, an increase of fibrosis was also observed (+26%, P < 0.05). Notably, the treatment also caused a reduction of specific tetanic tension (-29%, P < 0.05). The mdx soleus regenerative capacity was only slightly influenced by reduced S1P. In conclusion, neutralization of circulating S1P reduces the mass and specific force and increases fibrosis of mdx soleus muscle, thus worsening the dystrophic phenotype. The results confirm that active, functional S1P signalling might counteract the progression of soleus mdx pathology and validate the pathway as a potential therapeutic target for muscular dystrophies.

Exercise-dependent increases in protein synthesis are accompanied by chromatin modifications and increased MRTF-SRF signalling

AIM

Resistance exercise increases muscle mass over time. However, the early signalling events leading to muscle growth are not yet well-defined. Here, we aim to identify new signalling pathways important for muscle remodelling after exercise.

METHODS

We performed a phosphoproteomics screen after a single bout of exercise in mice. As an exercise model we used unilateral electrical stimulation in vivo and treadmill running. We analysed muscle biopsies from human subjects to verify if our findings in murine muscle also translate to exercise in humans.

RESULTS

We identified a new phosphorylation site on Myocardin-Related Transcription Factor B (MRTF-B), a co-activator of serum response factor (SRF). Phosphorylation of MRTF-B is required for its nuclear translocation after exercise and is accompanied by the transcription of the SRF target gene Fos. In addition, high-intensity exercise also remodels chromatin at specific SRF target gene loci through the phosphorylation of histone 3 on serine 10 in myonuclei of both mice and humans. Ablation of the MAP kinase member MSK1/2 is sufficient to prevent this histone phosphorylation, reduce induction of SRF-target genes, and prevent increases in protein synthesis after exercise.

CONCLUSION

Our results identify a new exercise signalling fingerprint in vivo, instrumental for exercise-induced protein synthesis and potentially muscle growth.

Skeletal muscle mTORC1 regulates neuromuscular junction stability

BACKGROUND

Skeletal muscle is a plastic tissue that can adapt to different stimuli. It is well established that Mammalian Target of Rapamycin Complex 1 (mTORC1) signalling is a key modulator in mediating increases in skeletal muscle mass and function. However, the role of mTORC1 signalling in adult skeletal muscle homeostasis is still not well defined.

METHODS

Inducible, muscle-specific Raptor and mTOR k.o. mice were generated. Muscles at 1 and 7 months after deletion were analysed to assess muscle histology and muscle force.

RESULTS

We found no change in muscle size or contractile properties 1 month after deletion. Prolonging deletion of Raptor to 7 months, however, leads to a very marked phenotype characterized by weakness, muscle regeneration, mitochondrial dysfunction, and autophagy impairment. Unexpectedly, reduced mTOR signalling in muscle fibres is accompanied by the appearance of markers of fibre denervation, like the increased expression of the neural cell adhesion molecule (NCAM). Both muscle-specific deletion of mTOR or Raptor, or the use of rapamycin, was sufficient to induce 3-8% of NCAM-positive fibres (P < 0.01), muscle fibrillation, and neuromuscular junction (NMJ) fragmentation in 24% of examined fibres (P < 0.001). Mechanistically, reactivation of autophagy with the small peptide Tat-beclin1 is sufficient to prevent mitochondrial dysfunction and the appearance of NCAM-positive fibres in Raptor k.o. muscles.

CONCLUSIONS

Our study shows that mTOR signalling in skeletal muscle fibres is critical for maintaining proper fibre innervation, preserving the NMJ structure in both the muscle fibre and the motor neuron. In addition, considering the beneficial effects of exercise in most pathologies affecting the NMJ, our findings suggest that part of these beneficial effects of exercise are through the well-established activation of mTORC1 in skeletal muscle during and after exercise.

Impaired Ribosomal Biogenesis by Noncanonical Degradation of β-Catenin during Hyperammonemia

Increased ribosomal biogenesis occurs during tissue hypertrophy, but whether ribosomal biogenesis is impaired during atrophy is not known. We show that hyperammonemia, which occurs in diverse chronic disorders, impairs protein synthesis as a result of decreased ribosomal content and translational capacity. Transcriptome analyses, real-time PCR, and immunoblotting showed consistent reductions in the expression of the large and small ribosomal protein subunits (RPL and RPS, respectively) in hyperammonemic murine skeletal myotubes, HEK cells, and skeletal muscle from hyperammonemic rats and human cirrhotics. Decreased ribosomal content was accompanied by decreased expression of cMYC, a positive regulator of ribosomal biogenesis, as well as reduced expression and activity of β-catenin, a transcriptional activator of cMYC. However, unlike the canonical regulation of β-catenin via glycogen synthase kinase 3β (GSK3β)-dependent degradation, GSK3β expression and phosphorylation were unaltered during hyperammonemia, and depletion of GSK3β did not prevent ammonia-induced degradation of β-catenin. Overexpression of GSK3β-resistant variants, genetic depletion of IκB kinase β (IKKβ) (activated during hyperammonemia), protein interactions, and in vitro kinase assays showed that IKKβ phosphorylated β-catenin directly. Overexpressing β-catenin restored hyperammonemia-induced perturbations in signaling responses that regulate ribosomal biogenesis. Our data show that decreased protein synthesis during hyperammonemia is mediated via a novel GSK3β-independent, IKKβ-dependent impairment of the β-catenin-cMYC axis.

Regulation of Ribosome Biogenesis in Skeletal Muscle Hypertrophy

The ribosome is the enzymatic macromolecular machine responsible for protein synthesis. The rates of protein synthesis are primarily dependent on translational efficiency and capacity. Ribosome biogenesis has emerged as an important regulator of skeletal muscle growth and maintenance by altering the translational capacity of the cell. Here, we provide evidence to support a central role for ribosome biogenesis in skeletal muscle growth during postnatal development and in response to resistance exercise training. Furthermore, we discuss the cellular signaling pathways regulating ribosome biogenesis, discuss how myonuclear accretion affects translational capacity, and explore future areas of investigation within the field.

Stimuli and sensors that initiate skeletal muscle hypertrophy following resistance exercise

One of the most striking adaptations to exercise is the skeletal muscle hypertrophy that occurs in response to resistance exercise. A large body of work shows that a mammalian target of rapamycin complex 1 (mTORC1)-mediated increase of muscle protein synthesis is the key, but not sole, mechanism by which resistance exercise causes muscle hypertrophy. While much of the hypertrophy signaling cascade has been identified, the initiating, resistance exercise-induced and hypertrophy-stimulating stimuli have remained elusive. For the purpose of this review, we define an initiating, resistance exercise-induced and hypertrophy-stimulating signal as "hypertrophy stimulus," and the sensor of such a signal as "hypertrophy sensor." In this review we discuss our current knowledge of specific mechanical stimuli, damage/injury-associated and metabolic stress-associated triggers, as potential hypertrophy stimuli. Mechanical signals are the prime hypertrophy stimuli candidates, and a filamin-C-BAG3-dependent regulation of mTORC1, Hippo, and autophagy signaling is a plausible albeit still incompletely characterized hypertrophy sensor. Other candidate mechanosensing mechanisms are nuclear deformation-initiated signaling or several mechanisms related to costameres, which are the functional equivalents of focal adhesions in other cells. While exercise-induced muscle damage is probably not essential for hypertrophy, it is still unclear whether and how such muscle damage could augment a hypertrophic response. Interventions that combine blood flow restriction and especially low load resistance exercise suggest that resistance exercise-regulated metabolites could be hypertrophy stimuli, but this is based on indirect evidence and metabolite candidates are poorly characterized.