Muscle articles within Nature Communications

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  • Article
    | Open Access

    Skeletal muscle’s metabolic status has an impact on health and the prognosis of chronic diseases. Here the authors unveil an atlas of open chromatin regions in skeletal muscles using single-nucleus techniques on juvenile male mice, highlight regulatory dynamics between normal and denervated states, and pinpoint ELK4 as a pivotal factor in muscle atrophy.

    • Hongchun Lin
    • , Hui Peng
    •  & Zhaoyong Hu

  • Article
    | Open Access

    Here, the authors provide an exome study of hand grip strength, a proxy of generalized muscle strength. They identify six exome-wide significant genes, with links to disease, and additivity of rare and common genetic variant effects on muscle strength.

    • Yunfeng Huang
    • , Dora Bodnar
    •  & Heiko Runz

  • Article
    | Open Access

    The mechanisms that drive myocyte orientation and fusion to control muscle directionality are not well understood. Here authors show that the developing skeleton produces mechanical tension that instructs the directional outgrowth of skeletal muscles.

    • Kazunori Sunadome
    • , Alek G. Erickson
    •  & Igor Adameyko

  • Article
    | Open Access

    cAMP is an important second messenger involved in many aspects of biological processes. Here, Li et al. shows that blood vessel epicardial substance (BVES) is a negative regulator of cAMP signaling required for maintaining muscle mass and function.

    • Haiwen Li
    • , Peipei Wang
    •  & Renzhi Han

  • Article
    | Open Access

    Some forms of mitochondrial dysfunction can cause sterile inflammation, but the way in which it might affect muscle fitness is not well understood. Here, the authors show that altered mitochondrial dynamics can cause the production of mitochondrial DNA-driven inflammatory signals mediated by endosome-mitochondria contacts, leading to muscle inflammation, atrophy, reduced physical performance and enhanced exercise-induced inflammatory responses.

    • Andrea Irazoki
    • , Isabel Gordaliza-Alaguero
    •  & Antonio Zorzano

  • Article
    | Open Access

    The group of Shih-Yin Tsai observed age-associated neuromuscular junction structural instability in male but not female mice which is driven by dysregulation of mTOR complex 1 activity. Genetic activation of the downstream phosphorylation target 4EBP1 in the muscle remodeled the neuromuscular junction and enhanced synaptic transmission.

    • Seok-Ting J. Ang
    • , Elisa M. Crombie
    •  & Shih-Yin Tsai

  • Article
    | Open Access

    Myoblast fusion is essential for development of multinucleated myofibers. Here, the authors show that ablation of Elmo 1 and Elmo2 impairs myoblast fusion in mice, and that expression of an open conformation of Elmo2 promotes muscle regeneration and improves the phenotype of Dysferlin-null dystrophic mice.

    • Viviane Tran
    • , Sarah Nahlé
    •  & Jean-François Côté

  • Article
    | Open Access

    The authors present cryogenic contrast-enhanced MicroCT (cryo-CECT), which by freezing stained samples at optimal freezing rates improves the visualization of the tissue microstructure. They demonstrate quantitative 3D analysis of individual tissue constituents, such as muscle and collagen fibers.

    • Arne Maes
    • , Camille Pestiaux
    •  & Greet Kerckhofs

  • Article
    | Open Access

    How different physical configurations between sarcomeres and mitochondria alter energetic support for contractile function of skeletal muscle is not clear. Here the authors use advanced 3D imaging and analysis techniques to show how space is made for mitochondria within the tightly packed sarcomere networks of striated muscle cells.

    • Prasanna Katti
    • , Alexander S. Hall
    •  & Brian Glancy

  • Article
    | Open Access

    Boyer et al. created genetic mouse models of muscular dystrophy in which satellite cells were selectively depleted. The depletion of satellite cells at select times was protective. Myofibers no longer had plasma membrane instability leading to tissue wasting in the muscular dystrophies.

    • Justin G. Boyer
    • , Jiuzhou Huo
    •  & Jeffery D. Molkentin

  • Article
    | Open Access

    Resistance exercise training (RET) is an effective countermeasure to sarcopenia, related frailty and metabolic disorders. Here, the authors show that an RET-induced increase in PGC-1α4 expression not only promotes muscle hypertrophy but also enhances glycolysis, providing a rapid supply of ATP for muscle contractions.

    • Jin-Ho Koh
    • , Mark W. Pataky
    •  & K. Sreekumaran Nair

  • Article
    | Open Access

    Exercise is helpful to counteract obesity and the related complications, and positive effects are associated to a switch of muscle fibres to an oxidative type. Here, the authors show that sirtuin 6 overexpression in mice induces such a switch by modulating Sox6 and CREB signalling, suggesting that sirtuin 6 may be a target for exercise mimetics.

    • Mi-Young Song
    • , Chang Yeob Han
    •  & Byung-Hyun Park

  • Article
    | Open Access

    Endoplasmic Reticulum stress induces cell non-autonomous Unfolded Protein Response (UPR) activation. Here the authors show that long-chain ceramides are secreted from muscle cells in extracellular vesicles and induce cell non-autonomous UPR activation in muscle cells in response to lipotoxcity.

    • Ben D. McNally
    • , Dean F. Ashley
    •  & Lee D. Roberts

  • Article
    | Open Access

    Polymyositis (PM) is a chronic inflammatory myopathy characterized by progressive muscle weakness. Here the authors showed that muscle fibers in PM undergo necroptosis and aggravate inflammation via releasing pro-inflammatory molecules such as HMGB1.

    • Mari Kamiya
    • , Fumitaka Mizoguchi
    •  & Shinsuke Yasuda

  • Article
    | Open Access

    Muscle undergoes hypertrophy and atrophy in response to physiological stimuli or in pathological conditions, which is partially controlled through altered gene expression. Here the authors report that m6A methyltransferase METTL3 and mRNA m6A post-transcriptional modifications as a mechanism that regulates muscle hypertrophy and atrophy via myostatin signalling in mice.

    • Jennifer M. Petrosino
    • , Scott A. Hinger
    •  & Federica Accornero

  • Article
    | Open Access

    Regular exercise promotes overall health and prevents non-communicable diseases, but the adaptation mechanisms are unclear. Here, the authors perform a meta-analysis to reveal time-specific patterns of the acute and long-term exercise response in human skeletal muscle, and identify sex- and age-specific changes.

    • David Amar
    • , Malene E. Lindholm
    •  & Euan A. Ashley

  • Article
    | Open Access

    As human skeletal muscle ages, gene expression programs change and reflect damage accumulation and homeostatic resilience mechanisms. Here, the authors present a detailed framework of the global transcriptome that characterizes skeletal muscle during aging in healthy individuals.

    • Robert A. Tumasian III
    • , Abhinav Harish
    •  & Luigi Ferrucci

  • Article
    | Open Access

    Sarcopenia is the age-associated functional decline and atrophy of muscle fibers, and it has been proposed that it might be counteracted by inducing myofiber hypertrophy. Here, the authors show that expression levels of the ubiquitin ligase UBR4 are increased with ageing, and that whilst its genetic ablation rescues muscle atrophy, it is also associated with reduced protein quality and impaired force production in Drosophila and mouse models.

    • Liam C. Hunt
    • , Bronwen Schadeberg
    •  & Fabio Demontis

  • Article
    | Open Access

    Muscle atrophy is associated with ageing, but the underlying molecular mechanisms are not well understood. Here, they authors show that ablation of the E3 ubiquitin ligase Mib1 is important for myofibre maintenance via a mechanism that involves targeting and degradation of Actn3, and that Mib1 ablation in mice induces muscle atrophy which can be rescued by knockown of Actn3 expression.

    • Ji-Yun Seo
    • , Jong-Seol Kang
    •  & Young-Yun Kong

  • Review Article
    | Open Access

    Skeletal muscle has a remarkable regenerative capacity, which can largely be attributed to resident muscle stem cells (MuSCs). Here, the authors review the molecular mechanisms regulating MuSC quiescence, activation and proliferation, how these processes are regulated by the stem cell niche, and the role of MuSCs in neuromuscular diseases.

    • F. Relaix
    • , M. Bencze
    •  & Taglietti V.

  • Review Article
    | Open Access

    Loss of muscle mass is associated with ageing and with a number of diseases such as cancer. Here, the authors review the signaling pathways that modulate protein synthesis and degradation and gain or loss of muscle mass, and discuss therapeutic implications and future directions for the field.

    • Roberta Sartori
    • , Vanina Romanello
    •  & Marco Sandri

  • Article
    | Open Access

    Skeletal muscle conveys the beneficial effects of physical exercise but due to its heterogeneity, studying the effects of exercise on muscle fibres is challenging. Here, the authors carry out proteomic analysis of myofibres from freeze-dried muscle biopsies, show fibre-type specific changes in response to exercise, and show that the oxidative and glycolytic muscle fibers adapt differentially to exercise training.

    • A. S. Deshmukh
    • , D. E. Steenberg
    •  & J. F. P. Wojtaszewski

  • Article
    | Open Access

    Muscle fibers are the largest cells in the body and contain less DNA per unit volume than other cells even if they have multiple nuclei. Here, the authors show that the number of nuclei regulates the cell size with similar scaling properties in mice and humans.

    • Kenth-Arne Hansson
    • , Einar Eftestøl
    •  & Kristian Gundersen

  • Article
    | Open Access

    Skeletal muscle is composed of syncytial myofibres, each containing hundreds of nuclei. Through genetic reduction of the number of nuclei per myofibre, the authors confirm that more nuclei produce larger cells but myofibres with fewer nuclei adaptively compensate leading to larger and functional myonuclear domains.

    • Alyssa A. W. Cramer
    • , Vikram Prasad
    •  & Douglas P. Millay

  • Article
    | Open Access

    Duchenne muscular dystrophy (DMD) is characterised by progressive muscle degeneration. Here, the authors show that the BET protein BRD4 is increased in the muscle of DMD mouse models, and that pharmacological inhibition of BRD4 leads to reduced muscle pathology in mice, by modulating NADPH oxidase expression.​

    • Marco Segatto
    • , Roberta Szokoll
    •  & Giuseppina Caretti

  • Article
    | Open Access

    mTORC1 expression is increased during ageing of muscle, and on the other hand, its activation promotes muscle hypertrophy. Here, the authors assess whether mTORC1 has positive or negative effects on ageing, and show that its long-term inhibition preserves muscle mass and function and neuromuscular junction integrity, whereas muscle-specific activation is associated with sarcopenia.

    • Daniel J. Ham
    • , Anastasiya Börsch
    •  & Markus A. Rüegg

  • Article
    | Open Access

    Skeletal muscle cells have long been considered to be made primarily of many individual, parallel myofibrils. Here, the authors show that the striated muscle contractile machinery forms a highly branched, mesh-like myofibrillar matrix connected across the entire length and width of the muscle cell.

    • T. Bradley Willingham
    • , Yuho Kim
    •  & Brian Glancy

  • Article
    | Open Access

    Nebulin-based nemaline myopathy is a heterogenous disease with unclear pathological mechanisms. Here, the authors generate a mouse model that mimics the most common genetic cause of the disease and demonstrate that muscle weakness in this model is associated with twisted actin filaments and altered tropomyosin and troponin behaviour.

    • Johan Lindqvist
    • , Weikang Ma
    •  & Henk Granzier

  • Article
    | Open Access

    Glucose metabolism is regulated by hypothalamic brain functions and factors produced by peripheral tissues. Here, the authors show that the regulator of food intake Brain-derived neurotrophic factor is also produced and secreted by muscle and stimulates pancreas insulin release.

    • Gianluca Fulgenzi
    • , Zhenyi Hong
    •  & Lino Tessarollo

  • Article
    | Open Access

    Denervation of muscle fibres induces muscle atrophy, via mechanisms that remain unclear. Here, the authors show that binding of acetylcoline to its receptor at the neuromuscular junction represses the expression of connexins 43 and 45, which promote atrophy, and is sufficient to prevent denervation-induced loss of myofibre mass.

    • Bruno A. Cisterna
    • , Aníbal A. Vargas
    •  & Juan C. Sáez

  • Article
    | Open Access

    Sarcopenia is the loss of muscle mass and strength associated with physical disability during ageing. Here, the authors analyse muscle biopsies from 119 patients with sarcopenia and age-matched controls of different ethnic groups and find transcriptional signatures indicating mitochondrial dysfunction, associated with reduced mitochondria numbers and lower NAD+ levels in older individuals with sarcopenia.

    • Eugenia Migliavacca
    • , Stacey K. H. Tay
    •  & Jerome N. Feige

  • Article
    | Open Access

    Skeletal muscle stem cells express the transcription factor Pax7. Here, the authors isolate, from human muscle, cells that are positive for the endothelial marker CLEC14A and show that despite not expressing pax7, these cells regenerate muscle and contribute to the muscle stem cell niche when transplanted into mice.

    • Andreas Marg
    • , Helena Escobar
    •  & Simone Spuler

  • Article
    | Open Access

    During high-intensity exercise, muscles convert glucose to lactate, in a process that is energetically less efficient than respiration. Here the authors develop a computational model based on muscle proteomic data showing that bypassing mitochondrial complex I increases ATP production rates, and validate these model predictions in an exercise test on 5 subjects.

    • Avlant Nilsson
    • , Elias Björnson
    •  & Jens Nielsen

  • Article
    | Open Access

    Reactive oxygen species (ROS) stimulate GLUT4-mediated glucose transport following contraction of isolated muscle, but it is not clear if this occurs in vivo. Here, the authors show in human volunteers that exercise induces ROS increase in muscle and, using loss of-function animal models, they demonstrate that NOX2 is a major ROS source required to stimulate glucose uptake during exercise.

    • Carlos Henríquez-Olguin
    • , Jonas R. Knudsen
    •  & Thomas E. Jensen

  • Article
    | Open Access

    HuR is an RNA-binding protein that regulates myotube differentiation in vitro. Here, the authors show that the muscle-specific ablation of HuR in mice leads to enhanced endurance capacity and an increase in oxidative fibres by destabilising PGC1α-mRNA, and show that the mice are protected against cancer cachexia

    • Brenda Janice Sánchez
    • , Anne-Marie K. Tremblay
    •  & Imed-Eddine Gallouzi

  • Article
    | Open Access

    Denervation leads to muscle atrophy and neuromuscular endplate remodeling. Here, the authors show that a balanced activation of mTORC1 contributes to the dynamic regulation of autophagic flux in denervated muscle and that activation of PKB/Akt promotes the nuclear import of HDAC4, which is essential for endplate maintenance upon nerve injury

    • Perrine Castets
    • , Nathalie Rion
    •  & Markus A. Rüegg

  • Article
    | Open Access

    A number of therapeutic agents aimed at reducing pathology in Duchenne muscular dystrophy have been developed, but may have off-target effects when delivered systemically. Here, the authors express the therapeutic LIF transgene in leukocytes, and show this results in targeting to inflamed dystrophic muscle and reduced fibrosis by suppressing type 2 immunity.

    • Steven S. Welc
    • , Ivan Flores
    •  & James G. Tidball

  • Article
    | Open Access

    Muscle loss is associated with altered expression of proteins involved in mitochondrial homeostasis, but whether this is causative remains unclear. Here, the authors show that genetic ablation of the pro-fission protein DRP1 leads to accumulation of abnormal mitochondria that induce muscle atrophy by altering Ca2+ homeostasis and cellular stress responses.

    • Giulia Favaro
    • , Vanina Romanello
    •  & Marco Sandri

  • Article
    | Open Access

    Insulin resistance is associated with development of type 2 diabetes. Here the authors show that TAZ interacts with c-Jun and Tead4, inducing expression of the insulin receptor substrate 1 (IRS1) leading to increased glucose uptake in muscle, and that its activity is counteracted by statin administration.

    • Jun-Ha Hwang
    • , A Rum Kim
    •  & Jeong-Ho Hong

  • Article
    | Open Access

    Myoblast fusion in skeletal muscle is a complex process but how this is regulated is unclear. Here, the authors identify Ash1L, a histone methyltransferase, as modulating myoblast fusion via activation of the myogenesis gene Cdon, and observe decreased Ash1L expression in Duchenne muscular dystrophy.

    • Ilaria Castiglioni
    • , Roberta Caccia
    •  & Davide Gabellini

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