Elevated myonuclear density during skeletal muscle hypertrophy in response to training is reversed during detraining.

TitleElevated myonuclear density during skeletal muscle hypertrophy in response to training is reversed during detraining.
Publication TypeJournal Article
Year of Publication2019
AuthorsDungan CM, Murach KA, Frick KK, Jones SR, Crow SE, Englund DA, Vechetti IJ, Figueiredo VC, Levitan BM, Satin J, McCarthy JJ, Peterson CA
JournalAm J Physiol Cell Physiol
Volume316
Issue5
PaginationC649-C654
Date Published2019 05 01
ISSN1522-1563
KeywordsAnimals, Female, Hypertrophy, Mice, Mice, Inbred C57BL, Muscle Fibers, Skeletal, Physical Conditioning, Animal, Weight-Bearing
Abstract

Myonuclei gained during exercise-induced skeletal muscle hypertrophy may be long-lasting and could facilitate future muscle adaptability after deconditioning, a concept colloquially termed "muscle memory." The evidence for this is limited, mostly due to the lack of a murine exercise-training paradigm that is nonsurgical and reversible. To address this limitation, we developed a novel progressive weighted-wheel-running (PoWeR) model of murine exercise training to test whether myonuclei gained during exercise persist after detraining. We hypothesized that myonuclei acquired during training-induced hypertrophy would remain following loss of muscle mass with detraining. Singly housed female C57BL/6J mice performed 8 wk of PoWeR, while another group performed 8 wk of PoWeR followed by 12 wk of detraining. Age-matched sedentary cage-dwelling mice served as untrained controls. Eight weeks of PoWeR yielded significant plantaris muscle fiber hypertrophy, a shift to a more oxidative phenotype, and greater myonuclear density than untrained mice. After 12 wk of detraining, the plantaris muscle returned to an untrained phenotype with fewer myonuclei. A finding of fewer myonuclei simultaneously with plantaris deconditioning argues against a muscle memory mechanism mediated by elevated myonuclear density in primarily fast-twitch muscle. PoWeR is a novel, practical, and easy-to-deploy approach for eliciting robust hypertrophy in mice, and our findings can inform future research on the mechanisms underlying skeletal muscle adaptive potential and muscle memory.

DOI10.1152/ajpcell.00050.2019
Alternate JournalAm. J. Physiol., Cell Physiol.
PubMed ID30840493
PubMed Central IDPMC6580158
Grant ListF32 AR071753 / AR / NIAMS NIH HHS / United States
R01 AG046920 / AG / NIA NIH HHS / United States
R01 AG049806 / AG / NIA NIH HHS / United States
R01 AR060701 / AR / NIAMS NIH HHS / United States