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Molecular indicators of denervation in aging human skeletal muscle
Author(s) -
Soendenbroe Casper,
Heisterberg Mette F.,
Schjerling Peter,
Karlsen Anders,
Kjaer Michael,
Andersen Jesper L.,
Mackey Abigail L.
Publication year - 2019
Publication title -
muscle and nerve
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 1.025
H-Index - 145
eISSN - 1097-4598
pISSN - 0148-639X
DOI - 10.1002/mus.26638
Subject(s) - denervation , skeletal muscle , medicine , neuroscience , biology , anatomy
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 (MHC n ), and neural cell adhesion molecule (NCAM). Results Embryonic myosin + fibers were rare, while MHC n + 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.