Sildenafil relaxes vascular smooth muscle cells and is used to treat pulmonary artery hypertension as well as erectile dysfunction. However, the effectiveness of sildenafil on skeletal muscle and the benefit of its clinical use have been controversial, and most studies focus primarily on tissues and organs from disease models without cellular examination. Here, the effects of sildenafil on skeletal muscle at the cellular level were examined using mouse primary skeletal myoblasts (the proliferative form of skeletal muscle stem cells) and myotubes, along with single-cell Ca2+ imaging experiments and cellular and biochemical studies. The proliferation of skeletal myoblasts was enhanced by sildenafil in a dose-independent manner. In skeletal myotubes, sildenafil enhanced the activity of ryanodine receptor 1, an internal Ca2+ channel, and Ca2+ movement that promotes skeletal muscle contraction, possibly due to an increase in the resting cytosolic Ca2+ level and a unique microscopic shape in the myotube membranes. Therefore, these results suggest that the maintenance ability of skeletal muscle mass and the contractility of skeletal muscle could be improved by sildenafil by enhancing the proliferation of skeletal myoblasts and increasing the Ca2+ availability of skeletal myotubes, respectively.
Animals ; Cytosol ; Erectile Dysfunction ; Hypertension ; Maintenance* ; Male ; Membranes ; Mice ; Muscle Fibers, Skeletal ; Muscle, Skeletal* ; Muscle, Smooth, Vascular ; Myoblasts, Skeletal ; Pulmonary Artery ; Ryanodine Receptor Calcium Release Channel ; Sildenafil Citrate*

Bex1 protein is upregulated in regenerating muscle and interacts with calmodulin, a Ca2+-binding protein involved in cell cycle regulation. Following cardiotoxin-induced injury the regenerating muscle of Bex1 knock-out mice exhibits prolonged cell proliferation and delayed cell differentiation compared to wild-type mice. To gain insight into this process, we compared the regenerating myogenic morphologies of Bex1 knock-out and wild-type mice at several time points. Bex1-positive cells were identified by double immunofluorescence staining. These studies demonstrated that a population of cells that are Bex1-positive after injury are c-Met/basal lamina-positive and Mac-1-negative indicating that they are derived from at least a subset of myogenic progenitor/satellite cells but not invading immune cells. In addition, in regenerating muscle, Bex1 co-localizes with calmodulin in the cytoplasm of the late myoblast or early myotube stage of myogenesis. These results suggest that Bex1 participates in muscle regeneration through the regulation of satellite cell proliferation and differentiation by its interaction with calmodulin. Current studies of Bex1 may provide a new molecular tool for the identification of activated satellite cell and open the way to new or improved therapeutic regimens against progressive muscular atrophy.
Animals ; Calmodulin ; Cell Cycle ; Cell Differentiation ; Cell Proliferation ; Cytoplasm ; Fluorescent Antibody Technique ; Mice ; Mice, Knockout ; Muscle Development ; Muscle Fibers, Skeletal ; Muscles ; Muscular Atrophy, Spinal ; Myoblasts ; Regeneration ; Satellite Cells, Skeletal Muscle

Bex1 protein is upregulated in regenerating muscle and interacts with calmodulin, a Ca2+-binding protein involved in cell cycle regulation. Following cardiotoxin-induced injury the regenerating muscle of Bex1 knock-out mice exhibits prolonged cell proliferation and delayed cell differentiation compared to wild-type mice. To gain insight into this process, we compared the regenerating myogenic morphologies of Bex1 knock-out and wild-type mice at several time points. Bex1-positive cells were identified by double immunofluorescence staining. These studies demonstrated that a population of cells that are Bex1-positive after injury are c-Met/basal lamina-positive and Mac-1-negative indicating that they are derived from at least a subset of myogenic progenitor/satellite cells but not invading immune cells. In addition, in regenerating muscle, Bex1 co-localizes with calmodulin in the cytoplasm of the late myoblast or early myotube stage of myogenesis. These results suggest that Bex1 participates in muscle regeneration through the regulation of satellite cell proliferation and differentiation by its interaction with calmodulin. Current studies of Bex1 may provide a new molecular tool for the identification of activated satellite cell and open the way to new or improved therapeutic regimens against progressive muscular atrophy.
Animals ; Calmodulin ; Cell Cycle ; Cell Differentiation ; Cell Proliferation ; Cytoplasm ; Fluorescent Antibody Technique ; Mice ; Mice, Knockout ; Muscle Development ; Muscle Fibers, Skeletal ; Muscles ; Muscular Atrophy, Spinal ; Myoblasts ; Regeneration ; Satellite Cells, Skeletal Muscle

BACKGROUND: Muscle is a target of immunological injury in several muscle diseases, such as idiopathic inflammatory myopathy. However, it is also a target for gene therapy. Therefore, it is important to understand the immunological capabilities of muscle cells. To assess as to whether muscle cells are actively involved in the inflamed muscle tissue, a human skeletal muscle cell line was tested for the expression of several cytokines and chemokine at the mRNA level. METHODS: A human skeletal muscle cell line (SKM14) had been developed by a retroviral vector encoding v-myc transfection into a 12-week-old human fetal skeletal muscle tissue characterized by the immunostaining of several musclespecific markers. Human skeletal myoblasts of this cell line were tested for their capacity to express different cytokines (IL-1beta, -6, -10, -12, -15, and TNF-alpha) and chemokine (IL-8) mRNA levels at the basal state and in the presence of TNF-alpha(10 ng/ml). RESULTS: The SKM14 cell line was confirmed to be able to express various cytokines constitutively (IL-6, -8, -12, -15, and TNF-alpha) and in the presence of TNF-alpha(IL-1beta, -6, -8, -10, -12, -15, and TNF-alpha). CONCLUSIONS: Our results suggest that muscle cells may play a role as immunocompetent cells.
Cell Line* ; Cytokines* ; Genetic Therapy ; Humans* ; Muscle Cells ; Muscle, Skeletal* ; Myoblasts ; Myoblasts, Skeletal ; Myositis ; RNA, Messenger* ; Transfection ; Zidovudine

BACKGROUND: A critical shortage of donor organs has necessitated an investigation of new strategies to increase the availability of additional organs available for human transplantation. We investigated the amount of apoptosis and expression of GADD45beta in two groups, a GADD45beta-transfected group and untransfected group. MATERIAL AND METHOD: The experimental groups consist of a control group (normal H9C2 cell line) and GADD45beta-transfected group. After injury of the each group, we evaluated the expression of GADD45beta and the level of apoptosis in each group. RESULT: There was a significant increase in the expression of GADD45beta in the GADD45beta-transfected group at 1 hour, 2 hours, and 3 hours after stimuli as compared with the control group. The amount of cardiac myoblast cell line apoptosis was significantly lower in the GADD45beta-transfected group as compared with the control group. The concentration of annexin in the GADD45beta-transfected group was significantly lower than that of the control group after cell injury. CONCLUSION: Transfection of a rat myoblast cell line with the GADD45beta gene results in decreased susceptibility to cell injury of human serum.
Animals ; Apoptosis ; Cell Line ; Humans ; Myoblasts ; Myoblasts, Cardiac ; Rats ; Tissue Donors ; Transfection ; Transplantation, Heterologous ; Transplants

PURPOSE: Few studies have examined whether bioengineering can improve fecal incontinence. This study designed to determine whether injection of porous polycaprolactone beads containing autologous myoblasts improves sphincter function in a dog model of fecal incontinence. METHODS: The anal sphincter of dogs was injured and the dogs were observed without and with (n = 5) the injection of porous polycaprolactone beads containing autologous myoblasts into the site of injury. Autologous myoblasts purified from the gastrocnemius muscles were transferred to the beads. Compound muscle action potentials (CMAP) of the pudendal nerve, anal sphincter pressure, and histopathology were determined 3 months after treatment. RESULTS: The amplitudes of the CMAP in the injured sphincter were significantly lower than those measured before injury (1.22 mV vs. 3.00 mV, P = 0.04). The amplitudes were not different between dogs with and without the injection of autologous myoblast beads (P = 0.49). Resting and squeezing pressures were higher in dogs treated with autologous myoblast beads (2.00 mmHg vs. 1.80 mmHg; 6.13 mmHg vs. 4.02 mmHg), although these differences were not significant in analyses of covariance adjusted for baseline values. The injection site was stained for smooth muscle actin, but showed evidence of foreign body inflammatory reactions. CONCLUSION: This was the first study to examine whether bioengineering could improve fecal incontinence. Although the results did not show definite evidence that injection of autologous myoblast beads improves sphincter function, we found that the dog model was suitable and reliable for studying the effects of a potential treatment modality for fecal incontinence.
Actins ; Action Potentials ; Anal Canal ; Animals ; Bioengineering ; Dogs ; Fecal Incontinence ; Foreign Bodies ; Muscle, Smooth ; Muscles ; Myoblasts ; Polyesters ; Pudendal Nerve

Morphological development of the ciliary body was studied by electron microscope in human fetuses from 50 to 260 mm crown-rump length(11-30 weeks of gestational age). At a 50 mm(11 weeks) fetus, the anlage of ciliary body was not appeared. At a 70 mm(13 weeks) fetus, the anlage of ciliary epithelium was appeared as the folds were formed by invaginating vessels in the basal surface of pigmented epithelium at the rim of optic cup. At the time, the anlage of ciliary muscle was formed as the mesenchymal cells, which located between the rim of optic cup and the scleral condensation, different-iate into the myoblasts, and the unmyelinated nerve fibers and the axon terminals were found in the interstitial tissue of mesenchyme. At 100-260 mm(15-30 weeks) fetuses, the myoblasts of ciliary body continued to develop into typical smooth muscle cells. At 200-260 mm(20-30 weeks) fetuses, the well-developed infoldings in the basal lamina and the well-developed interdigitations in the lateral sur-face were observed at both pigmented and nonpigmented epithelia. At the time, ganglion cells, Schwan cells and axon terminals were observed in the interstitial tissue of ciliary muscle.
Basement Membrane ; Ciliary Body* ; Epithelium ; Fetus* ; Ganglion Cysts ; Humans* ; Mesoderm ; Myoblasts ; Myocytes, Smooth Muscle ; Nerve Fibers, Unmyelinated ; Presynaptic Terminals

OBJECTIVE: Caveolae are the microdomain of the plasma membrane that have been implicated in signal transduction and caveolin is a principal component of the caveolae. Caveolin-3, a family of caveolin related protein, is expressed only in muscle tissue. Here we examined the expression of caveolin-3 in the course of myobalst differentiation and within the muscle tissue. METHOD: L6 cell, rat skeletal myoblast, was cultured in the low mitogen medium and caveolin-3 expression was observed both by immunocytochemistry and western blot analysis. Localization of caveolin-3 within the muscle tissue was investigated and compared to that of dystrophin. RESULTS: While caveolin-3 was not expressed in the proliferating myolast, caveolin-3 was expressed in the differentiated myoblast. Caveolin-3 and dystrophin were co-expressed in the membrane of muscle tissue and integrated density of caveolin-3 was elevated in the area of muscle injury. In the Duchenne muscular dystrophy, caveolin-3 was expressed in the membrane of muscle tissue, but dystrophin was not. CONCLUSION: Caveolin-3 was induced during the myobalst differentiation and its expression was increased during the muscle regeneration. Caveolin-3 was physically associated with dystrophin as a complex, but not absolutely required for the biogenesis of dystrophin complex.
Animals ; Organelle Biogenesis ; Blotting, Western ; Caveolae ; Caveolin 3* ; Cell Membrane ; Dystrophin ; Humans ; Immunohistochemistry ; Membranes ; Muscle Cells* ; Muscle, Skeletal ; Muscular Dystrophy, Duchenne ; Myoblasts ; Myoblasts, Skeletal ; Rats ; Regeneration ; Signal Transduction

Sumoylation, the conjugation of a small ubiquitin-like modifier (SUMO) protein to a target, has diverse cellular effects. However, the functional roles of the SUMO modification during myogenesis have not been fully elucidated. Here, we report that basal sumoylation of histone deacetylase 1 (HDAC1) enhances the deacetylation of MyoD in undifferentiated myoblasts, whereas further sumoylation of HDAC1 contributes to switching its binding partners from MyoD to Rb to induce myocyte differentiation. Differentiation in C2C12 skeletal myoblasts induced new immunoblot bands above HDAC1 that were gradually enhanced during differentiation. Using SUMO inhibitors and sumoylation assays, we showed that the upper band was caused by sumoylation of HDAC1 during differentiation. Basal deacetylase activity was not altered in the SUMO modification-resistant mutant HDAC1 K444/476R (HDAC1 2R). Either differentiation or transfection of SUMO1 increased HDAC1 activity that was attenuated in HDAC1 2R. Furthermore, HDAC1 2R failed to deacetylate MyoD. Binding of HDAC1 to MyoD was attenuated by K444/476R. Binding of HDAC1 to MyoD was gradually reduced after 2 days of differentiation. Transfection of SUMO1 induced dissociation of HDAC1 from MyoD but potentiated its binding to Rb. SUMO1 transfection further attenuated HDAC1-induced inhibition of muscle creatine kinase luciferase activity that was reversed in HDAC1 2R. HDAC1 2R failed to inhibit myogenesis and muscle gene expression. In conclusion, HDAC1 sumoylation plays a dual role in MyoD signaling: enhancement of HDAC1 deacetylation of MyoD in the basally sumoylated state of undifferentiated myoblasts and dissociation of HDAC1 from MyoD during myogenesis.
Creatine Kinase, MM Form ; Gene Expression ; Histone Deacetylase 1 ; Histone Deacetylases ; Histones ; Luciferases ; Muscle Cells ; Muscle Development ; Myoblasts ; Myoblasts, Skeletal ; Sumoylation ; Transfection

The development of skeletal muscle is a highly regulated, multi-step process in which pluripotent mesodermal cells give rise to myoblasts that subsequently withdraw from the cell cycle and differentiate into myotubes as well as myofibers. The plasticity of myoblasts plays a critical role in maintaining skeletal muscle structure and function by myoblast activation, migration, adhesion, membrane reorganization, nuclear fusion, finally forming myotubes/myofibers. Our studies demonstrate that the local hypoxic microenvironment, a great diversity of regulatory factors such as IL-6 superfamily factors (IL-6, LIF, CNTF) and TGF-beta1 could regulate the myoblast plasticity. The aim of this paper is to review the previous studies focused on the regulation of myoblast plasticity and its mechanism in our laboratory. Knowledge about the microenvironment or factors involved in regulating the myoblast plasticity will help develop the prevention and cure measures of skeletal muscle diseases.
Cell Differentiation ; Cellular Microenvironment ; Humans ; Hypoxia ; Muscle Fibers, Skeletal ; cytology ; Muscle, Skeletal ; cytology ; Myoblasts ; cytology