Mutations in the RYR1 gene cause severe myopathies. Mice with an I4895T mutation in the type 1 ryanodine receptor/Ca2+ release channel (RyR1) display muscle weakness and atrophy, but the underlying mechanisms are unclear. Here we show that the I4895T mutation in RyR1 decreases the amplitude of the sarcoplasmic reticulum (SR) Ca2+ transient, resting cytosolic Ca2+ levels, muscle triadin content and calsequestrin (CSQ) localization to the junctional SR, and increases endoplasmic reticulum (ER) stress/unfolded protein response (UPR) and mitochondrial ROS production. Treatment of mice carrying the I4895T mutation with a chemical chaperone, sodium 4-phenylbutyrate (4PBA), reduces ER stress/UPR and improves muscle function, but does not restore SR Ca2+ transients in I4895T fibres to wild type levels, suggesting that decreased SR Ca2+ release is not the major driver of the myopathy. These findings suggest that 4PBA, an FDA-approved drug, has potential as a therapeutic intervention for RyR1 myopathies that are associated with ER stress.

The Rbfox family of RNA-binding proteins is highly conserved with established roles in alternative splicing (AS) regulation. High-throughput studies aimed at understanding transcriptome remodeling have revealed skeletal muscle as displaying one of the largest number of AS events. This finding is consistent with requirements for tissue-specific protein isoforms needed to sustain muscle-specific functions. Rbfox1 is abundant in vertebrate brain, heart and skeletal muscle. Genome-wide genetic approaches have linked the Rbfox1 gene to autism, and a brain-specific knockout mouse revealed a critical role for this splicing regulator in neuronal function. Moreover, a Caenorhabditis elegans Rbfox1 homolog regulates muscle-specific splicing. To determine the role of Rbfox1 in muscle function, we developed a conditional knockout mouse model to specifically delete Rbfox1 in adult tissue. We show that Rbfox1 is required for muscle function but a >70% loss of Rbfox1 in satellite cells does not disrupt muscle regeneration. Deep sequencing identified aberrant splicing of multiple genes including those encoding myofibrillar and cytoskeletal proteins, and proteins that regulate calcium handling. Ultrastructure analysis of Rbfox1(-/-) muscle by electron microscopy revealed abundant tubular aggregates. Immunostaining showed mislocalization of the sarcoplasmic reticulum proteins Serca1 and Ryr1 in a pattern indicative of colocalization with the tubular aggregates. Consistent with mislocalization of Serca1 and Ryr1, calcium handling was drastically altered in Rbfox1(-/-) muscle. Moreover, muscle function was significantly impaired in Rbfox1(-/-) muscle as indicated by decreased force generation. These results demonstrate that Rbfox1 regulates a network of AS events required to maintain multiple aspects of muscle physiology.

BackgroundCa2+ influx through CaV1.1 is not required for skeletal muscle excitation-contraction coupling, but whether Ca2+ permeation through CaV1.1 during sustained muscle activity plays a functional role in mammalian skeletal muscle has not been assessed.MethodsWe generated a mouse with a Ca2+ binding and/or permeation defect in the voltage-dependent Ca2+ channel, CaV1.1, and used Ca2+ imaging, western blotting, immunohistochemistry, proximity ligation assays, SUnSET analysis of protein synthesis, and Ca2+ imaging techniques to define pathways modulated by Ca2+ binding and/or permeation of CaV1.1. We also assessed fiber type distributions, cross-sectional area, and force frequency and fatigue in isolated muscles.ResultsUsing mice with a pore mutation in CaV1.1 required for Ca2+ binding and/or permeation (E1014K, EK), we demonstrate that CaV1.1 opening is coupled to CaMKII activation and refilling of sarcoplasmic reticulum Ca2+ stores during sustained activity. Decreases in these Ca2+-dependent enzyme activities alter downstream signaling pathways (Ras/Erk/mTORC1) that lead to decreased muscle protein synthesis. The physiological consequences of the permeation and/or Ca2+ binding defect in CaV1.1 are increased fatigue, decreased fiber size, and increased Type IIb fibers.ConclusionsWhile not essential for excitation-contraction coupling, Ca2+ binding and/or permeation via the CaV1.1 pore plays an important modulatory role in muscle performance.Electronic supplementary materialThe online version of this article (doi:10.1186/s13395-014-0027-1) contains supplementary material, which is available to authorized users.

Transit availability—the opportunity to use transit service at a particular location—is a key determinant in transit use. If transit service is unavailable near a potential passenger’s origin and destination, it is not a viable travel option. The Florida Department of Transportation’s transit level-of-service (TLOS) indicator is a measure of transit availability that incorporates service coverage, frequency, and duration; the availability and quality of pedestrian routes to transit stops; and population and job density. The TLOS indicator’s basic concept is that at any given minute, a transit vehicle serves a small group of people; that is, those people who could board a vehicle when leaving their job site or residence that minute, walk no more than a specified distance to a transit stop, and wait no more than a specified time for a vehicle to arrive. Geographical information system–based software developed for the TLOS project can be applied to every transit vehicle for each minute in a day. The data can be compiled for time frames ranging from 15 minutes to 1 week to assess the amount of service for each part of a transit system’s service area. The TLOS indicator was tested in Tallahassee, Florida, and produced results compatible with, but more detailed than, the availability measures contained in the Transit Cooperative Research Program’s Transit Capacity and Quality of Service Manual. Potential applications include service evaluation, transportation modeling, and improvement of modal-split calculations.

BackgroundStatins are widely used drugs for the treatment of hyperlipidemia. Though relatively safe, some individuals taking statins experience rhabdymyolysis, muscle pain, and cramping, a condition termed statin-induced myopathy (SIM). To determine if mutations in the skeletal muscle calcium (Ca2+) release channel, ryanodine receptor type 1 (RyR1), enhance the sensitivity to SIM we tested the effects of simvastatin, the statin that produces the highest incidence of SIM in humans, in mice with a mutation (Y524S, ‘YS’) in RyR1. This mutation is associated with malignant hyperthermia in humans. Exposure of mice with the YS mutation to mild elevations in environmental temperature produces a life-threatening hypermetabolic response (HMR) that is characterized by increased oxygen consumption (VO2), sustained muscle contractures, rhabdymyolysis, and elevated core body temperature.MethodsWe assessed the ability of simvastatin to induce a hypermetabolic response in the YS mice using indirect calorimetry and to alter Ca2+ release via RyR1 in isolated flexor digitorum brevis (FDB) fibers from WT and YS mice using fluorescent Ca2+ indicators. We also tested the ability of 5-aminoimidazole-4-carboxamide ribonucleoside (AICAR) to protect against the simvastatin effects.ResultsAn acute dose of simvastatin triggers a hypermetabolic response in YS mice. In isolated YS muscle fibers, simvastatin triggers an increase in cytosolic Ca2+ levels by increasing Ca2+ leak from the sarcoplasmic reticulum (SR). With higher simvastatin doses, a similar cytosolic Ca2+ increase occurs in wild type (WT) muscle fibers. Pre-treatment of YS and WT mice with AICAR prevents the response to simvastatin.ConclusionsA mutation in RyR1 associated with malignant hyperthermia increases susceptibility to an adverse response to simvastatin due to enhanced Ca2+ release from the sarcoplasmic reticulum, suggesting that RyR1 mutations may underlie enhanced susceptibility to statin-induced myopathies. Our data suggest that AICAR may be useful for treating statin myopathies.