Skip to main page content
U.S. flag

An official website of the United States government

Dot gov

The .gov means it’s official.
Federal government websites often end in .gov or .mil. Before sharing sensitive information, make sure you’re on a federal government site.

Https

The site is secure.
The https:// ensures that you are connecting to the official website and that any information you provide is encrypted and transmitted securely.

Access keys NCBI Homepage MyNCBI Homepage Main Content Main Navigation
. 2019 Oct;60(4):453-463.
doi: 10.1002/mus.26638. Epub 2019 Jul 29.

Molecular indicators of denervation in aging human skeletal muscle

Casper Soendenbroe  1   2 , Mette F Heisterberg  1 , Peter Schjerling  1   2 , Anders Karlsen  1   2   3 , Michael Kjaer  1   2 , Jesper L Andersen  1   2 , Abigail L Mackey  1   3
Affiliations

Molecular indicators of denervation in aging human skeletal muscle

Casper Soendenbroe et al. Muscle Nerve. 2019 Oct.

Abstract

Introduction: Muscle fiber denervation increases with age, yet studies at the tissue level are sparse due to the challenging nature of establishing the relative role of regeneration and denervation.

Methods: Muscle biopsies were obtained from the vastus lateralis of 70 healthy men (aged 72 ± 6 years; range, 65-94). Messenger RNA (mRNA) levels of acetylcholine receptors (AchR) were measured, and sections were stained for embryonic myosin, neonatal myosin (MHCn ), and neural cell adhesion molecule (NCAM).

Results: Embryonic myosin+ fibers were rare, while MHCn+ and NCAM+ fibers were observed in all samples. Age (range, 65-94 years) was negatively associated with AchRγ mRNA.

Discussion: Muscle from healthy older individuals expressed developmental myosins to varying degrees but more than has been previously reported for young individuals. Along with the AchR correlations, we propose that these findings support the presence of neuromuscular junction destabilization, denervation, and reinnervation in aging human skeletal muscle.

Keywords: acetylcholine receptor; denervation; human muscle; neonatal myosin; sarcopenia.

PubMed Disclaimer

References

REFERENCES

    1. Schiaffino S, Reggiani C. Fiber types in mammalian skeletal muscles. Physiol Rev. 2011;91:1447-1531.
    1. Barbet JP, Thornell LE, Butler-Browne GS. Immunocytochemical characterisation of two generations of fibers during the development of the human quadriceps muscle. Mech Dev. 1991;35:3-11.
    1. Draeger A, Weeds AG, Fitzsimons RB. Primary, secondary and tertiary myotubes in developing skeletal muscle: a new approach to the analysis of human myogenesis. J Neurol Sci. 1987;81:19-43.
    1. Fitzsimons RB, Hoh JFY. Embryonic and foetal myosins in human skeletal muscle. The presence of foetal myosins in duchenne muscular dystrophy and infantile spinal muscular atrophy. J Neurol Sci. 1981;52:367-384.
    1. Monemi M, Eriksson PO, Dubail I, Butler-Browne GS, Thornell LE. Fetal myosin heavy chain increases in the human masseter muscle during aging. FEBS Lett. 1996;386:87-90.

Publication types