Biomechanics Research Today is a free monthly online journal that collates and summarizes the latest research about Biomechanics, including details on mechanics of living organisms, movement, locomotion, prosthetic limbs.

Aging alters the reduction of pro-apoptotic signaling in response to loading-induced hypertrophy.

Siu PM, Alway SE

Division of Exercise Physiology, Laboratory of Muscle Biology and Sarcopenia, School of Medicine, West Virginia University, Robert C. Byrd Health Sciences Center, Morgantown, WV 26506-9227, USA.

This study tested the hypothesis that loading decreased apoptosis in skeletal muscle in an aging-dependent fashion. One wing of young and aged Japanese quails was loaded for 7 or 21 days to induce hypertrophy. The contralateral wing served as the intra-animal control. Loading increased fast-twitch quail patagialis muscle mass by 28 and 49%, after 7 or 21 days of loading, respectively in young adult birds. Muscle mass was not elevated after 7 days of loading, but increased by 29% after 21 days of loading in aged birds. Seven days of loading reduced DNA fragmentation and cytosolic accumulation of cytochrome c in muscles from young birds but not in muscles from aged birds. ARC protein content was lower and H2O2 content was higher in muscles from aged birds following 7 days of loading. The mitochondria-free cytosolic protein fraction from muscles loaded for 7 days had 41 and 29% lower AIF content than control muscles in young and aged birds, respectively. XIAP, an apoptotic suppressor protein increased after 7 days of loading in muscles from young adult but not aged birds. Our results suggest that loading suppresses pro-apoptotic signaling in quail muscle but aging delays or attenuates these anti-apoptotic changes.

Published 6 February 2006 in Exp Gerontol, 41(2): 175-88.
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