Eicosapentaenoic acid (EPA) is an omega-3 polyunsaturated fatty acid that has anti-inflammatory and anticachectic actions. The aim of this work was to elucidate whether EPA administration is able to prevent an arthritis-induced decrease in body weight and muscle wasting in rats. Arthritis was induced by intradermal injection of Freund's adjuvant; 3 days later, nine rats received 1 g/kg EPA or c...

ADULT SKELETAL MUSCLE shows a very high level of plasticity that is necessary for adaptation to various conditions. Moreover, it possesses the remarkable capacity to regenerate after injury, and such plasticity derives from the properties of satellite cells—a group of cells that restore muscle function throughout their lifespan. Normally quiescent under steadystate conditions, satellite cells a...

Understanding how complex patterns of temporal and spatial expression are regulated is central to deciphering genetic programs that drive development. Gene expression is initiated through the action of transcription factors and their cofactors converging on enhancer elements leading to a defined activity. Specific constellations of combinatorial occupancy are therefore often conceptualized as r...

Recruitment of multipotent mesodermal cells to the myogenic lineage is mediated by the transcription factor Myf5, the first of the myogenic regulatory factors to be expressed in most sites of myogenesis in the mouse embryo. Among numerous elements controlling the spatiotemporal pattern of Myf5 expression, the -58/-56 kb distal Myf5 enhancer directs expression in myogenic progenitor cells in lim...

[Purpose] The present study aimed to determine the effects of short muscle strength exercise on hepatocyte growth factor expression and satellite cell activation. [Subjects] The study included 72 2-12-week-old male Sprague-Dawley rats. [Methods] The rat plantaris muscle was contracted with a 5-min electrical stimulation of the sciatic nerve, and then, the mRNA expressions of hepatocyte growth f...

Alongside increased proteolysis, the inability to repair damaged skeletal muscle is a characteristic feature of uncontrolled diabetes. This study evaluates the role of oxidative stress in muscle-specific gene regulatory regions and myosin chain synthesis in streptozotocin (STZ)-induced diabetic and ZDF rats. In the gastrocnemius muscle of diabetic rats, prooxidant compounds were seen to increas...