The effects of lactate on muscle mass and regeneration were investigated using mouse skeletal muscle tissue and cultured C2C12 cells. Male C57BL/6J mice were randomly divided into (1) control, (2) lactate (1 mol/L in distilled water, 8.9 mL/g body weight)-administered, (3) cardio toxin (CTX)-injected (CX), and (4) lactate-administered after CTX-injection (LX) groups. CTX was injected into right tibialis anterior (TA) muscle before the oral administration of sodium lactate (five days/week for two weeks) to the mice. Oral lactate administration increased the muscle weight and fiber cross-sectional area, and the population of Pax7-positive nuclei in mouse TA skeletal muscle. Oral administration of lactate also facilitated the recovery process of CTX-associated injured mouse TA muscle mass accompanied with a transient increase in the population of Pax7-positive nuclei. Mouse myoblast-derived C2C12 cells were differentiated for five days to form myotubes with or without lactate administration. C2C12 myotube formation with an increase in protein content, fiber diameter, length, and myo-nuclei was stimulated by lactate. These observations suggest that lactate may be a potential molecule to stimulate muscle hypertrophy and regeneration of mouse skeletal muscle via the activation of muscle satellite cells.

We investigated the protective effect of Brazilian propolis, a natural resinous substance produced by honeybees, against glycation stress in mouse skeletal muscles. Mice were divided into four groups: (1) Normal diet + drinking water, (2) Brazilian propolis (0.1%)-containing diet + drinking water, (3) normal diet + methylglyoxal (MGO) (0.1%)-containing drinking water, and (4) Brazilian propolis (0.1%)-containing diet + MGO (0.1%)-containing drinking water. MGO treatment for 20 weeks reduced the weight of the extensor digitorum longus (EDL) muscle and tended to be in the soleus muscle. Ingestion of Brazilian propolis showed no effect on this change in EDL muscles but tended to increase the weight of the soleus muscles regardless of MGO treatment. In EDL muscles, Brazilian propolis ingestion suppressed the accumulation of MGO-derived advanced glycation end products (AGEs) in MGO-treated mice. The activity of glyoxalase 1 was not affected by MGO, but was enhanced by Brazilian propolis in EDL muscles. MGO treatment increased mRNA expression of inflammation-related molecules, interleukin (IL)-1β, IL-6, and toll-like receptor 4 (TLR4). Brazilian propolis ingestion suppressed these increases. MGO and/or propolis exerted no effect on the accumulation of AGEs, glyoxalase 1 activity, and inflammatory responses in soleus muscles. These results suggest that Brazilian propolis exerts a protective effect against glycation stress by inhibiting the accumulation of AGEs, promoting MGO detoxification, and reducing proinflammatory responses in the skeletal muscle. However, these anti-glycation effects does not lead to prevent glycation-induced muscle mass reduction.

5′AMP-activated protein kinase (AMPK) plays an important role in the regulation of skeletal muscle mass and fiber-type distribution. However, it is unclear whether AMPK is involved in muscle mass change or transition of myosin heavy chain (MyHC) isoforms in response to unloading or increased loading. Here, we checked whether AMPK controls muscle mass change and transition of MyHC isoforms during unloading and reloading using mice expressing a skeletal-muscle-specific dominant-negative AMPKα1 (AMPK-DN). Fourteen days of hindlimb unloading reduced the soleus muscle weight in wild-type and AMPK-DN mice, but reduction in the muscle mass was partly attenuated in AMPK-DN mice. There was no difference in the regrown muscle weight between the mice after 7 days of reloading, and there was concomitantly reduced AMPKα2 activity, however it was higher in AMPK-DN mice after 14 days reloading. No difference was observed between the mice in relation to the levels of slow-type MyHC I, fast-type MyHC IIa/x, and MyHC IIb isoforms following unloading and reloading. The levels of 72-kDa heat-shock protein, which preserves muscle mass, increased in AMPK-DN-mice. Our results indicate that AMPK mediates the progress of atrophy during unloading and regrowth of atrophied muscles following reloading, but it does not influence the transition of MyHC isoforms.

We explored the interrelationship between a tissue-specific alternative splicing factor muscleblind-like 1 (MBNL1) and peroxisome proliferator-activated receptor-γ coactivator 1-α (PGC-1α), B-cell lymphoma 2 (Bcl-2) or Bcl-2-associated X protein (Bax) in C2C12 myotubes and mouse skeletal muscle to investigate a possible physiological role of MBNL1 in mitochondrial-associated apoptosis of skeletal muscle. Expression level of PGC-1α and mitochondrial membrane potential evaluated by the fluorescence ratio of JC-1 aggregate to monomer in C2C12 myotubes were suppressed by knockdown of MBNL1. Conversely, the ratio of Bax to Bcl-2 as well as the apoptotic index in C2C12 myotubes was increased by MBNL1 knockdown. In plantaris muscle, on the other hand, not only the minimum muscle fiber diameter but also the expression level of MBNL1 and PGC-1α in of 100-week-old mice were significantly lower than that of 10-week-old mice. Furthermore, the ratio of Bax to Bcl-2 in mouse plantaris muscle was increased by aging. These results suggest that MBNL1 may play a key role in aging-associated muscle atrophy accompanied with mitochondrial dysfunction and apoptosis via mediating PGC-1α expression in skeletal muscle.