Detecting the Effects of the Glucocorticoid Dexamethasone on Primary Human Skeletal Muscle Cells—Differences to the Murine Cell Line
Open Access
- 2 April 2020
- journal article
- research article
- Published by MDPI AG in International Journal of Molecular Sciences
- Vol. 21 (7), 2497
- https://doi.org/10.3390/ijms21072497
Abstract
Skeletal muscle atrophy is characterized by a decrease in muscle fiber size as a result of a decreased protein synthesis, which leads to degradation of contractile muscle fibers. It can occur after denervation and immobilization, and glucocorticoids (GCs) may also increase protein breakdown contributing to the loss of muscle mass and myofibrillar proteins. GCs are already used in vitro to induce atrophic conditions, but until now no studies with primary human skeletal muscle existed. Therefore, this study deals with the effects of the GC dexamethasone (dex) on primary human myoblasts and myotubes. After incubation with 1, 10, and 100 µM dex for 48 and 72 h, gene and protein expression analyses were performed by qPCR and Western blot. Foxo, MuRF-1, and MAFbx were significantly upregulated by dex, and there was increased gene expression of myogenic markers. However, prolonged incubation periods demonstrated no Myosin protein degradation, but an increase of MuRF-1 expression. In conclusion, applying dex did not only differently affect primary human myoblasts and myotubes, as differences were also observed when compared to murine cells. Based on our findings, studies using cell lines or animal cells should be interpreted with caution as signaling transduction and functional behavior might differ in diverse species.Keywords
This publication has 72 references indexed in Scilit:
- Dexamethasone induces dysferlin in myoblasts and enhances their myogenic differentiationNeuromuscular Disorders, 2010
- DDB2 decides cell fate following DNA damageProceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, 2009
- During muscle atrophy, thick, but not thin, filament components are degraded by MuRF1-dependent ubiquitylationThe Journal of cell biology, 2009
- Dexamethasone and corticosterone induce similar, but not identical, muscle wasting responses in cultured L6 and C2C12 myotubesJournal of Cellular Biochemistry, 2008
- The initiation factor eIF3-f is a major target for Atrogin1/MAFbx function in skeletal muscle atrophyThe EMBO Journal, 2008
- Glucocorticoids differentially regulate degradation of MyoD and Id1 by N-terminal ubiquitination to promote muscle protein catabolismProceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, 2008
- AKT/PKB Signaling: Navigating DownstreamCell, 2007
- How corticosteroids control inflammation: Quintiles Prize Lecture 2005British Journal of Pharmacology, 2006
- Minimal criteria for defining multipotent mesenchymal stromal cells. The International Society for Cellular Therapy position statementCytotherapy, 2006
- Analysis of Relative Gene Expression Data Using Real-Time Quantitative PCR and the 2−ΔΔCT MethodMethods, 2001