Denervation leads to the activation of the catabolic pathways, such as the ubiquitin-proteasome and autophagy, resulting in skeletal muscle atrophy and weakness. Furthermore, denervation induces oxidative stress in skeletal muscle, which is thought to contribute to the induction of skeletal muscle atrophy. Several muscle diseases are characterized by denervation, but the molecular pathways cont...

The mass and integrity of skeletal muscle is vital to whole-body substrate metabolism and health. Indeed, defects in muscle metabolism and functions underlie or exacerbate diseases like diabetes, rheumatoid arthritis, and cancer. Physical activity and nutrition are the 2 most important environmental factors that can affect muscle health. At the molecular level, the mammalian target of rapamycin...

Skeletal muscle aging is accompanied by loss of muscle mass and strength. Examining changes in myonuclear proteins with age would provide insight into molecular processes which regulate these profound changes in muscle physiology. However, muscle tissue is highly adapted for contraction and thus comprised largely of contractile proteins making the nuclear proteins difficult to identify from who...

Ubiquitin-dependent proteolysis is activated in skeletal muscle atrophying in response to various catabolic stimuli. Previous studies have demonstrated activation of ubiquitin conjugation. Because ubiquitination can also be regulated by deubiquitinating enzymes, we used degenerate oligonucleotides derived from conserved sequences in the ubiquitin-specific protease (UBP) family of deubiquitinati...

Myostatin, a member of the transforming growth factor-beta superfamily, is a genetic determinant of skeletal muscle growth. Mice and cattle with inactivating mutations of myostatin have marked muscle hypertrophy. However, it is not known whether myostatin regulates skeletal muscle growth in adult men and whether increased myostatin expression contributes to wasting in chronic illness. We examin...

Skeletal muscle has a fundamentally important role in the maintenance of normal glucose homeostasis and in regulating whole-body carbohydrate metabolism. In this review, we discuss the regulation of skeletal muscle glucose transport by muscular activity and inactivity. A large number of patients routinely seen by physical therapists exhibit some form of skeletal muscle insulin resistance. There...

Genetic variation in myostatin, a negative regulator of skeletal muscle, in cattle has shown remarkable influence on skeletal muscle, resulting in a double-muscled phenotype in certain breeds; however, DNA sequence variation within this gene in humans has not been consistently associated with skeletal muscle mass or strength. Follistatin and activin-type II receptor B (ACVR2B) are two myostatin...

Cancer cachexia is a complex multifactorial syndrome characterized by loss of skeletal muscle mass (with or without loss of fat mass) that cannot be fully reversed by conventional nutritional support and leads to progressive functional impairment. Recently, some amino acids and other amine dietary supplements have been highlighted in medical field due to positive effects upon diseases evolving ...

Sarcopenia has been defined as the aging-related disease with the declined mass, strength, and function of skeletal muscle, which is the major cause of frailty and falls in elders. The activation of inflammatory signal pathways due to diseases and aging is suggested to reveal the critical impact on sarcopenia. Several proinflammatory cytokines, especially interleukin-6 (IL-6) and tumor necrosis...

Skeletal muscle accounts for ~40% of total body mass. The principle functions of skeletal muscle include supporting the body structure, controlling motor movements and storing energy. Rhabdomyosarcoma (RMS) is a skeletal muscle‑derived soft tissue tumor widely occurring in the pediatric population. In previous years, microRNAs (miRNAs) have been demonstrated to be important in skeletal muscle d...