This experiment tested the hypothesis that running-induced damage to rat skeletal muscle causes changes in synthesis and degradation of basement membrane type IV collagen and to proteins regulating its degradation. Samples from soleus muscle and red and white parts of quadriceps femoris muscle (MQF) were collected 6 h or 1, 2, 4, or 7 days after downhill running. Increased muscle beta-glucuronidase activity indicated greater muscle damage in the red part of MQF than in the white part of MQF or soleus. In the red part of MQF, type IV collagen expression was upregulated at the pretranslational level and the protein concentration decreased, whereas matrix metalloproteinase-2 (MMP-2), a protein that degrades type IV collagen, and tissue inhibitor of metalloproteinase-2 (TIMP-2), a protein that inhibits degradation, were increased in parallel both at mRNA and protein levels. Type IV collagen mRNA level increased in the white part of MQF and soleus muscle. The protein concentration increased in the white part of MQF and was unchanged in soleus muscle. MMP-2 and TIMP-2 changed only slightly in the white part of MQF and soleus muscle. The changes seem to depend on the severity of myofiber injury and thus probably reflect reorganization of basement membrane compounds.
Type XV collagen occurs widely in the basement membrane zones of tissues, but its function is unknown. To understand the biological role of this protein, a null mutation in the Col15a1 gene was introduced into the germ line of mice. Despite the complete lack of type XV collagen, the mutant mice developed and reproduced normally, and they were indistinguishable from their wild-type littermates. However, Col15a1-deficient mice showed progressive histological changes characteristic for muscular diseases after 3 months of age, and they were more vulnerable than controls to exercise-induced muscle injury. Despite the antiangiogenic role of type XV collagen-derived endostatin, the development of the vasculature appeared normal in the null mice. Nevertheless, ultrastructural analyses revealed collapsed capillaries and endothelial cell degeneration in the heart and skeletal muscle. Furthermore, perfused hearts showed a diminished inotropic response, and exercise resulted in cardiac injury, changes that mimic early or mild heart disease. Thus, type XV collagen appears to function as a structural component needed to stabilize skeletal muscle cells and microvessels.T ype XV collagen belongs to the heterogeneous group of non-fibril-forming collagens and is thought to be a homotrimer consisting of three ␣1(XV) collagen chains (1). It is characterized by a central highly interrupted triple helical domain and large N-and C-terminal noncollagenous domains (2-4), and it has been shown to be a chondroitin sulfate proteoglycan (5). Type XV collagen mRNAs are expressed in many tissues, but the highest mRNA levels in the mouse can be detected in the heart and skeletal muscle (4). The protein is shown by immunostaining to have a widespread tissue distribution and has been localized mainly to the basement membrane zones, although it can also be found in the fibrillar collagen matrix of some tissues (6, 7). Its function is not known, however.In terms of primary structure, type XV collagen is highly homologous with type XVIII collagen, and together they form a distinct subgroup among the collagens (1, 3). They have thrombospondin-1 sequence homology in the N terminus, seven homologous collagenous domains, and highly homologous Cterminal noncollagenous domains. Type XVIII collagen is the precursor of endostatin, which has been shown to have a potent antiangiogenic effect (8), and the highest degree of homology between collagen types XV and XVIII involves the C-terminal endostatin sequence. The corresponding fragment in type XV collagen has also been shown to have antiangiogenic activity (9, 10).To understand the biological function and significance of type XV collagen, we generated a mouse strain lacking in ␣1(XV) collagen chains by site-specific Cre-loxP-mediated deletion in embryonic stem (ES) cells (11). The data suggest a structural role for type XV collagen in providing mechanical stability between cells and the extracellular matrix in skeletal muscle fibers and microvessels. Col15a1 deficiency leads to functional rather than struct...
Specific antibodies against structural proteins of muscle fibres (actin, desmin, dystrophin) and extracellular matrix (fibronectin) were used to study the effect of eccentrically biased downhill running exercise (13,5 degrees, 17 m min(-1), 130 min) on the magnitude and properties of myofibre injury in the quadriceps femoris muscle of male and female rats. Muscle beta-glucuronidase activity, a quantitative indicator of muscle damage, showed clearly smaller increase in female than in male rats during the 4-day period following exercise. A similar course of histopathological changes was observed in both sexes, although females showed slower and less marked changes than males. In males, discontinuous or even lost submembrane protein dystrophin staining was observed in some swollen fibres immediately after exercise, before the loss of desmin and staining of disorganized actin, i.e. before the disruption of the cytoskeletal system and the contractile apparatus. The observation that no dramatic changes in the microarchitecture of the muscle fibres were detected immediately or even 6 h after the exercise in females compared with males may indicate that the sarcolemma of the females might be strengthened against membrane damage by a still unknown stabilizing compound.
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