Cellular and Molecular Variations in Male and Female Murine Skeletal Muscle after Long-Term Feeding with a High-Fat Diet

Abstract

Current information regarding the effects of a high-fat diet (HFD) on skeletal muscle is contradictory. This study aimed to investigate the effects of a long-term HFD on skeletal muscle in male and female mice at the morphological, cellular, and molecular levels. Adult mice of the C57BL/6 strain were fed standard chow or an HFD for 20 weeks. The tibialis anterior muscles were dissected, weighed, and processed for cellular and molecular analyses. Immunocytochemical and morphometric techniques were applied to quantify fiber size, satellite cells (SCs), and myonuclei. Additionally, PCR array and RT-qPCR tests were performed to determine the expression levels of key muscle genes. Muscles from HFD mice showed decreases in weight, SCs, and myonuclei, consistent with the atrophic phenotype. This atrophy was associated with a decrease in the percentage of oxidative fibers within the muscle. These findings were further confirmed by molecular analyses that showed significant reductions in the expression of Pax7, Myh1, and Myh2 genes and increased Mstn gene expression. Male and female mice showed similar trends in response to HFD-induced obesity. These findings indicate that the long-term effects of obesity on skeletal muscle resemble those of age-related sarcopenia.

Focal Traumatic Brain Injury Impairs Integrity of Basement Membrane of Hindlimb Muscle Fibers Revealed by Extracellular Matrix Immunoreactivity

“…The immunoreactive components were smoothly and evenly distributed around each muscle fiber although the abundance of the immunoreactive components varied between different muscles. This labeling pattern was similar to the results that were reported in other studies in rodent hindlimb muscles [25,26], indicating that the sham surgery did not affect the expression pattern of laminin. However, when examining the muscles from the TBI rats it was found that the pattern was disrupted, i.e., the smooth distribution pattern of the immunoreactive components was broken; instead, the immunoreactive components were aggregated along the sarcolemma of muscle fibers and formed a granule-like labeling pattern (Figure 2B,C,E,F).…”

Focal Traumatic Brain Injury Impairs the Integrity of the Basement Membrane of Hindlimb Muscle Fibers Revealed by Extracellular Matrix Immunoreactivity

“…The immunoreactive components were smoothly and evenly distributed around each muscle fiber, although the abundance of the immunoreactive components varied between different muscles. This labeling pattern was similar to the results that were reported in other studies in rodent hindlimb muscles [26,27], indicating that the sham surgery did not affect the expression pattern of laminin. However, upon examination of the muscles from the TBI rats, it was found that the pattern was disrupted, i.e., the smooth distribution pattern of the immunoreactive components was broken; instead, the immunoreactive components were aggregated along the sarcolemma of the muscle fibers and formed a granule-like labeling pattern (Figure 2B,C,E,F).…”