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Review
. 2015 Nov:80:115-125.
doi: 10.1016/j.bone.2015.02.008.

Skeletal muscle as an endocrine organ: PGC-1α, myokines and exercise

Svenia Schnyder  1 , Christoph Handschin  2
Affiliations
Review

Skeletal muscle as an endocrine organ: PGC-1α, myokines and exercise

Svenia Schnyder et al. Bone. 2015 Nov.

Abstract

An active lifestyle is crucial to maintain health into old age; inversely, sedentariness has been linked to an elevated risk for many chronic diseases. The discovery of myokines, hormones produced by skeletal muscle tissue, suggests the possibility that these might be molecular mediators of the whole body effects of exercise originating from contracting muscle fibers. Even though less is known about the sedentary state, the lack of contraction-induced myokines or the production of a distinct set of hormones in the inactive muscle could likewise contribute to pathological consequences in this context. In this review, we try to summarize the most recent developments in the study of muscle as an endocrine organ and speculate about the potential impact on our understanding of exercise and sedentary physiology, respectively. This article is part of a Special Issue entitled "Muscle Bone Interactions".

Keywords: Exercise; Inflammation; Myokines; PGC-1α; Skeletal muscle.

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Figures

Fig. 1
Fig. 1. Central role of PGC-1α in the regulation of skeletal muscle cell plasticity
Every major signaling pathway that is activated in a contracting muscle fiber during and after endurance training converges on PGC-1α by modulating PGC-1α gene expression and/or post-translational modifications of the PGC-1α protein. As a consequence, PGC-1α in turn coordinates the transcriptional network that controls the biological program of exercise-induced muscle remodeling.
Fig. 2
Fig. 2. Auto-, para- and endocrine effects of myokines
Selected examples of the physiological consequences of the production and release of myokines on skeletal muscle and other organs are depicted.
See this image and copyright information in PMC

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