The coactivator PGC-1alpha mediates key responses of skeletal muscle to motor nerve activity. We show here that neuregulin-stimulated phosphorylation of PGC-1alpha and GA-binding protein (GABP) allows recruitment of PGC-1alpha to the GABP complex and enhances transcription of a broad neuromuscular junction gene program. Since a subset of genes controlled by PGC-1alpha and GABP is dysregulated in Duchenne muscular dystrophy (DMD), we examined the effects of transgenic PGC-1alpha in muscle of mdx mice. These animals show improvement in parameters characteristic of DMD, including muscle histology, running performance, and plasma creatine kinase levels. Thus, control of PGC-1alpha levels in skeletal muscle could represent a novel avenue to prevent or treat DMD.

Download full-text PDF

Source
http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC1838529PMC
http://dx.doi.org/10.1101/gad.1525107DOI Listing

Publication Analysis

Top Keywords

neuromuscular junction
8
duchenne muscular
8
muscular dystrophy
8
skeletal muscle
8
pgc-1alpha gabp
8
pgc-1alpha
7
pgc-1alpha regulates
4
regulates neuromuscular
4
junction program
4
program ameliorates
4

Similar Publications

Neurons require high amounts energy, and mitochondria help to fulfill this requirement. Dysfunc-tional mitochondria trigger problems in various neuronal tasks. Using the neuromuscular junction (NMJ) as a model synapse, we previously reported that Mitochondrial Complex I (MCI) subunits were required for maintaining NMJ function and growth.

View Article and Find Full Text PDF

Background: Bridge-like lipid transfer proteins (BLTPs) mediate bulk lipid transport at membrane contact sites. Mutations in BLTPs are linked to both early-onset neurodevelopmental and later-onset neurodegenerative diseases, including movement disorders. The tissue specificity and temporal requirements of BLTPs in disease pathogenesis remain poorly understood.

View Article and Find Full Text PDF

Aging disrupts multiple homeostatic processes, including autophagy, a cellular process for the recycling and degradation of defective cytoplasmic structures. Acute treatment with the autophagy inhibitor chloroquine blunts the maximal forces generated by the diaphragm muscle, but the mechanisms underlying neuromuscular dysfunction in old age remain poorly understood. We hypothesized that chloroquine treatment increases the presynaptic retention of the styryl dye FM 4-64 following high-frequency nerve stimulation, consistent with the accumulation of unprocessed bulk endosomes.

View Article and Find Full Text PDF

25-Hydroxycholesterol modulates synaptic vesicle endocytosis at the mouse neuromuscular junction.

Pflugers Arch

January 2025

Laboratory of Biophysics of Synaptic Processes, Kazan Institute of Biochemistry and Biophysics, FRC Kazan Scientific Center of RAS, 2/31 Lobachevsky St, Kazan, 420111, RT, Russia.

Many synaptic vesicles undergo exocytosis in motor nerve terminals during neuromuscular communication. Endocytosis then recovers the synaptic vesicle pool and presynaptic membrane area. The kinetics of endocytosis may shape neuromuscular transmission, determining its long-term reliability.

View Article and Find Full Text PDF

Objectives: The current gold standard for immunofluorescent (IF) visualization of neuromuscular junctions (NMJs) in muscle utilizes frozen tissue sections with fluorescent conjugated antibodies to demarcate neurons and IF alpha-bungarotoxin (α-BTX) to demarcate motor endplates. Frozen tissue sectioning comes with inherent inescapable limitations, including cryosectioning artifact and limited sample shelf-life. However, a parallel approach to identify NMJs in paraffin-embedded tissue sections has not been previously described.

View Article and Find Full Text PDF

Want AI Summaries of new PubMed Abstracts delivered to your In-box?

Enter search terms and have AI summaries delivered each week - change queries or unsubscribe any time!