Alterations to mTORC1 signaling in the skeletal muscle differentially affect whole-body metabolism

The mammalian target of rapamycin complex 1 (mTORC1) is a central node in a network of signaling pathways controlling cell growth and survival. This multiprotein complex integrates external signals and affects different nutrient pathways in various organs. However, it is not clear how alterations of mTORC1 signaling in skeletal muscle affect whole-body metabolism.; We characterized the metabolic phenotype of young and old raptor muscle knock-out (RAmKO) and TSC1 muscle knock-out (TSCmKO) mice, where mTORC1 activity in skeletal muscle is inhibited or constitutively activated, respectively. Ten-week-old RAmKO mice are lean and insulin resistant with increased energy expenditure, and they are resistant to a high-fat diet (HFD). This correlates with an increased expression of histone deacetylases (HDACs) and a downregulation of genes involved in glucose and fatty acid metabolism. Ten-week-old TSCmKO mice are also lean, glucose intolerant with a decreased activation of protein kinase B (Akt/PKB) targets that regulate glucose transporters in the muscle. The mice are resistant to a HFD and show reduced accumulation of glycogen and lipids in the liver. Both mouse models suffer from a myopathy with age, with reduced fat and lean mass, and both RAmKO and TSCmKO mice develop insulin resistance and increased intramyocellular lipid content.; Our study shows that alterations of mTORC1 signaling in the skeletal muscle differentially affect whole-body metabolism. While both inhibition and constitutive activation of mTORC1 induce leanness and resistance to obesity, changes in the metabolism of muscle and peripheral organs are distinct. These results indicate that a balanced mTORC1 signaling in the muscle is required for proper metabolic homeostasis

The Translation Regulatory Subunit eIF3f Controls the Kinase-Dependent mTOR Signaling Required for Muscle Differentiation and Hypertrophy in Mouse

The mTORC1 pathway is required for both the terminal muscle differentiation and hypertrophy by controlling the mammalian translational machinery via phosphorylation of S6K1 and 4E-BP1. mTOR and S6K1 are connected by interacting with the eIF3 initiation complex. The regulatory subunit eIF3f plays a major role in muscle hypertrophy and is a key target that accounts for MAFbx function during atrophy. Here we present evidence that in MAFbx-induced atrophy the degradation of eIF3f suppresses S6K1 activation by mTOR, whereas an eIF3f mutant insensitive to MAFbx polyubiquitination maintained persistent phosphorylation of S6K1 and rpS6. During terminal muscle differentiation a conserved TOS motif in eIF3f connects mTOR/raptor complex, which phosphorylates S6K1 and regulates downstream effectors of mTOR and Cap-dependent translation initiation. Thus eIF3f plays a major role for proper activity of mTORC1 to regulate skeletal muscle size

Dual roles of mTORC1-dependent activation of the ubiquitin-proteasome system in muscle proteostasis

Muscle size is controlled by the PI3K-PKB/Akt-mTORC1-FoxO pathway, which integrates signals from growth factors, energy and amino acids to activate protein synthesis and inhibit protein breakdown. While mTORC1 activity is necessary for PKB/Akt-induced muscle hypertrophy, its constant activation alone induces muscle atrophy. Here we show that this paradox is based on mTORC1 activity promoting protein breakdown through the ubiquitin-proteasome system (UPS) by simultaneously inducing ubiquitin E3 ligase expression via feedback inhibition of PKB/Akt and proteasome biogenesis via Nuclear Factor Erythroid 2-Like 1 (Nrf1). Muscle growth was restored by reactivation of PKB/Akt, but not by Nrf1 knockdown, implicating ubiquitination as the limiting step. However, both PKB/Akt activation and proteasome depletion by Nrf1 knockdown led to an immediate disruption of proteome integrity with rapid accumulation of damaged material. These data highlight the physiological importance of mTORC1-mediated PKB/Akt inhibition and point to juxtaposed roles of the UPS in atrophy and proteome integrity

Distinct and additive effects of calorie restriction and rapamycin in aging skeletal muscle

As global life expectancy continues to climb, maintaining skeletal muscle function is increasingly essential to ensure a good life quality for aging populations. Calorie restriction (CR) is the most potent and reproducible intervention to extend health and lifespan, but is largely unachievable in humans. Therefore, identification of "CR mimetics" has received much attention. CR targets nutrient-sensing pathways centering on mTORC1. The mTORC1 inhibitor, rapamycin, has been proposed as a potential CR mimetic and is proven to counteract age-related muscle loss. Therefore, we tested whether rapamycin acts via similar mechanisms as CR to slow muscle aging. Contrary to our expectation, long-term CR and rapamycin-treated geriatric mice display distinct skeletal muscle gene expression profiles despite both conferring benefits to aging skeletal muscle. Furthermore, CR improved muscle integrity in a mouse with nutrient-insensitive sustained muscle mTORC1 activity and rapamycin provided additive benefits to CR in aging mouse muscles. Therefore, RM and CR exert distinct, compounding effects in aging skeletal muscle, opening the possibility of parallel interventions to counteract muscle aging

Mechanisms Regulating Neuromuscular Junction Development and Function and Causes of Muscle Wasting

The neuromuscular junction is the chemical synapse between motor neurons and skeletal muscle fibers. It is designed to reliably convert the action potential from the presynaptic motor neuron into the contraction of the postsynaptic muscle fiber. Diseases that affect the neuromuscular junction may cause failure of this conversion and result in loss of ambulation and respiration. The loss of motor input also causes muscle wasting as muscle mass is constantly adapted to contractile needs by the balancing of protein synthesis and protein degradation. Finally, neuromuscular activity and muscle mass have a major impact on metabolic properties of the organisms. This review discusses the mechanisms involved in the development and maintenance of the neuromuscular junction, the consequences of and the mechanisms involved in its dysfunction, and its role in maintaining muscle mass during aging. As life expectancy is increasing, loss of muscle mass during aging, called sarcopenia, has emerged as a field of high medical need. Interestingly, aging is also accompanied by structural changes at the neuromuscular junction, suggesting that the mechanisms involved in neuromuscular junction maintenance might be disturbed during aging. In addition, there is now evidence that behavioral paradigms and signaling pathways that are involved in longevity also affect neuromuscular junction stability and sarcopenia

Differential response of skeletal muscles to mTORC1 signaling during atrophy and hypertrophy

BACKGROUND: Skeletal muscle mass is determined by the balance between protein synthesis and degradation. Mammalian target of rapamycin complex 1 (mTORC1) is a master regulator of protein translation and has been implicated in the control of muscle mass. Inactivation of mTORC1 by skeletal muscle-specific deletion of its obligatory component raptor results in smaller muscles and a lethal dystrophy. Moreover, raptor-deficient muscles are less oxidative through changes in the expression PGC-1alpha, a critical determinant of mitochondrial biogenesis. These results suggest that activation of mTORC1 might be beneficial to skeletal muscle by providing resistance to muscle atrophy and increasing oxidative function. Here, we tested this hypothesis by deletion of the mTORC1 inhibitor tuberous sclerosis complex (TSC) in muscle fibers. METHOD: Skeletal muscles of mice with an acute or a permanent deletion of raptor or TSC1 were examined using histological, biochemical and molecular biological methods. Response of the muscles to changes in mechanical load and nerve input was investigated by challenging the mice by denervation or ablation of synergistic muscles. RESULTS: Genetic deletion or knockdown of raptor, causing inactivation of mTORC1, was sufficient to prevent muscle growth and enhance muscle atrophy. Conversely, short-term activation of mTORC1 by knockdown of TSC induced muscle fiber hypertrophy and atrophy-resistance upon denervation, in both fast tibialis anterior (TA) and slow soleus muscles. Surprisingly, however, sustained activation of mTORC1 by genetic deletion of Tsc1 caused muscle atrophy in all but soleus muscles. In contrast, oxidative capacity was increased in all muscles examined. Consistently, TSC1-deficient soleus muscle was atrophy-resistant whereas TA underwent normal atrophy upon denervation. Moreover, upon overloading, plantaris muscle did not display enhanced hypertrophy compared to controls. Biochemical analysis indicated that the atrophy respo of muscles was based on the suppressed phosphorylation of PKB/Akt via feedback inhibition by mTORC1 and subsequent increased expression of the E3 ubiquitin ligases MuRF1 and atrogin-1/MAFbx. In contrast, expression of both E3 ligases was not increased in soleus muscle suggesting the presence of compensatory mechanisms in this muscle. CONCLUSIONS: Our study shows that the mTORC1- and the PKB/Akt-FoxO pathways are tightly interconnected and differentially regulated depending on the muscle type. These results indicate that long-term activation of the mTORC1 signaling axis is not a therapeutic option to promote muscle growth because of its strong feedback induction of the E3 ubiquitin ligases involved in protein degradation

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Molecular and phenotypic analysis of rodent models reveals conserved and species-specific modulators of human sarcopenia

Sarcopenia, the age-related loss of skeletal muscle mass and function, affects 5-13% of individuals aged over 60 years. While rodents are widely-used model organisms, which aspects of sarcopenia are recapitulated in different animal models is unknown. Here we generated a time series of phenotypic measurements and RNA sequencing data in mouse gastrocnemius muscle and analyzed them alongside analogous data from rats and humans. We found that rodents recapitulate mitochondrial changes observed in human sarcopenia, while inflammatory responses are conserved at pathway but not gene level. Perturbations in the extracellular matrix are shared by rats, while mice recapitulate changes in RNA processing and autophagy. We inferred transcription regulators of early and late transcriptome changes, which could be targeted therapeutically. Our study demonstrates that phenotypic measurements, such as muscle mass, are better indicators of muscle health than chronological age and should be considered when analyzing aging-related molecular data

Dual roles of mTORC1-dependent activation of the ubiquitin-proteasome system in muscle proteostasis

Muscle size is controlled by the PI3K-PKB/Akt-mTORC1-FoxO pathway, which integrates signals from growth factors, energy and amino acids to activate protein synthesis and inhibit protein breakdown. While mTORC1 activity is necessary for PKB/Akt-induced muscle hypertrophy, its constant activation alone induces muscle atrophy. Here we show that this paradox is based on mTORC1 activity promoting protein breakdown through the ubiquitin-proteasome system (UPS) by simultaneously inducing ubiquitin E3 ligase expression via feedback inhibition of PKB/Akt and proteasome biogenesis via Nuclear Factor Erythroid 2-Like 1 (Nrf1). Muscle growth was restored by reactivation of PKB/Akt, but not by Nrf1 knockdown, implicating ubiquitination as the limiting step. However, both PKB/Akt activation and proteasome depletion by Nrf1 knockdown led to an immediate disruption of proteome integrity with rapid accumulation of damaged material. These data highlight the physiological importance of mTORC1-mediated PKB/Akt inhibition and point to juxtaposed roles of the UPS in atrophy and proteome integrity