Requirement of myomaker-mediated stem cell fusion for skeletal muscle hypertrophy
Abstract
Fusion of skeletal muscle stem/progenitor cells is required for proper development and regeneration, however the significance of this process during adult muscle hypertrophy has not been explored. In response to muscle overload after synergist ablation in mice, we show that myomaker, a muscle specific membrane protein essential for myoblast fusion, is activated mainly in muscle progenitors and not myofibers. We rendered muscle progenitors fusion-incompetent through genetic deletion of myomaker in muscle stem cells and observed a complete reduction of overload-induced hypertrophy. This blunted hypertrophic response was associated with a reduction in Akt and p70s6k signaling and protein synthesis, suggesting a link between myonuclear accretion and activation of pro-hypertrophic pathways. Furthermore, fusion-incompetent muscle exhibited increased fibrosis after muscle overload, indicating a protective role for normal stem cell activity in reducing myofiber strain associated with hypertrophy. These findings reveal an essential contribution of myomaker-mediated stem cell fusion during physiological adult muscle hypertrophy.
Article and author information
Author details
Funding
Muscular Dystrophy Association
- Douglas P Millay
Pew Charitable Trusts
- Douglas P Millay
National Institute of Arthritis and Musculoskeletal and Skin Diseases (R01AR068286)
- Douglas P Millay
The funders had no role in study design, data collection and interpretation, or the decision to submit the work for publication.
Reviewing Editor
- Amy J Wagers, Harvard University, United States
Ethics
Animal experimentation: This study was performed in strict accordance with the recommendations in the Guide for the Care and Use of Laboratory Animals of the National Institutes of Health. All of the animals were handled according to approved institutional animal care and use committee (IACUC) protocols (#2014-0051) of the Cincinnati Children's Hospital Medical Center. All surgery was performed under isoflurane anesthesia, and every effort was made to minimize suffering.
Version history
- Received: July 24, 2016
- Accepted: February 9, 2017
- Accepted Manuscript published: February 10, 2017 (version 1)
- Version of Record published: March 6, 2017 (version 2)
Copyright
© 2017, Goh & Millay
This article is distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License permitting unrestricted use and redistribution provided that the original author and source are credited.
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