Protective effects of hachimijiogan (HJG), a Japanese Kampo medicine, on cancer cachectic muscle wasting in mice.

Myogenesis is required to generate skeletal muscle tissue and to maintain skeletal muscle mass. Decreased myogenesis under various pathogenic conditions results in muscular atrophy. Through a small screening of Japanese traditional (Kampo) medicines, hachimijiogan (HJG) was shown to promote the myogenic differentiation of C2C12 myoblasts through the upregulation of myogenin.

Novel cell-based system to assay cell-cell fusion during myotube formation.

A live assay tool has been established to uncover the precise molecular mechanisms underlying complex cell fusion events in myoblasts. The novel cell-based assay, HiMy (HiBiT-based myoblast fusion), utilizes a recently developed split-luciferase technology. The assay successfully detected cell fusion in differentiating C2C12 myoblast cultures.

Aerobic Exercise Ameliorates Cancer Cachexia-Induced Muscle Wasting through Adiponectin Signaling.

Cachexia is a multifactorial syndrome characterized by muscle loss that cannot be reversed by conventional nutritional support. To uncover the molecular basis underlying the onset of cancer cachectic muscle wasting and establish an effective intervention against muscle loss, we used a cancer cachectic mouse model and examined the effects of aerobic exercise. Aerobic exercise successfully suppressed muscle atrophy and activated adiponectin signaling.

The SUN2-nesprin-2 LINC complex and KIF20A function in the Golgi dispersal.

The morphology of the Golgi complex is influenced by the cellular context, which strictly correlates with nuclear functions; however, the mechanism underlying this association remains elusive. The inner nuclear membrane SUN proteins, SUN1 and SUN2, have diverse functions together with the outer nuclear membrane nesprin proteins, which comprise the LINC complex. We found that depletion of SUN1 leads to Golgi complex dispersion with maintenance of ministacks and retained function for vesicle transport through the Golgi complex.

Correction: Clathrin adaptor GGA1 modulates myogenesis of C2C12 myoblasts.

[This corrects the article DOI: 10.1371/journal.pone.

Clathrin adaptor GGA1 modulates myogenesis of C2C12 myoblasts.

During myogenesis, myogenic stem cells undergo several sequential events, including cell division, migration, and cell-cell fusion, leading to the formation of multinuclear myotubes, which are the precursors of myofibers. To understand the molecular mechanisms underlying these complex processes, an RNA interference-based gene depletion approach was used. Golgi associated, gamma adaptin ear containing, ARF binding protein 1 (GGA1), a Golgi-resident monomeric clathrin adaptor, was found to be required for the process of myotube formation in C2C12 cells, a cultured murine myoblast cell line.