2023年 新着論文 3 分子内分泌学研究分野から論文が発表されました

Sarcopenia phenotype and impaired muscle function in male mice with fast-twitch muscle-specific knockout of the androgen receptor

Proc Natl Acad Sci U S A. 2023 Jan 24;120(4):e2218032120. doi: 10.1073/pnas.2218032120. Epub 2023 Jan 20.

Authors

Tatsuya Hosoi  1 Mitsutaka Yakabe  1 Hiroko Sasakawa  1 Takayoshi Sasako  2 Kohjiro Ueki  3 Shigeaki Kato  4 Suzumi M Tokuoka  5 Yoshiya Oda  5 Masahiro Abe  6 Toshio Matsumoto  7 Masahiro Akishita  1 Sumito Ogawa  1

Affiliations

  • 1 Department of Geriatric Medicine, Graduate School of Medicine, The University of Tokyo, Bunkyo-ku, Tokyo 113-0033, Japan.
  • 2 Department of Diabetes and Metabolic Diseases, Graduate School of Medicine, The University of Tokyo, Bunkyo-ku, Tokyo 113-0033, Japan.
  • 3 Diabetes Research Center, National Center for Global Health and Medicine, Shinjuku-ku, Tokyo 162-8655, Japan.
  • 4 Fukushima Medical University, Fukushima 960-1295, Japan.
  • 5 Department of Lipidomics, Graduate School of Medicine, The University of Tokyo, 7-3-1 Hongo, Bunkyo-ku, Tokyo 113-0033, Japan.
  • 6 Department of Hematology, Endocrinology and Metabolism, Tokushima University Graduate School, Tokushima 770-8503, Japan.
  • 7 Fujii Memorial Institute of Medical Sciences, Institute of Advanced Medical Sciences, Tokushima University, Tokushima 770-8503, Japan.

Abstract

Sarcopenia is distinct from normal muscle atrophy in that it is closely related to a shift in the muscle fiber type. Deficiency of the anabolic action of androgen on skeletal muscles is associated with sarcopenia; however, the function of the androgen receptor (AR) pathway in sarcopenia remains poorly understood. We generated a mouse model (fast-twitch muscle-specific AR knockout [fmARKO] mice) in which the AR was selectively deleted in the fast-twitch muscle fibers. In young male mice, the deletion caused no change in muscle mass, but it reduced muscle strength and fatigue resistance and induced a shift in the soleus muscles from fast-twitch fibers to slow-twitch fibers (14% increase, P = 0.02). After middle age, with the control mice, the male fmARKO mice showed much less muscle function, accompanied by lower hindlimb muscle mass; this phenotype was similar to the progression of sarcopenia. The bone mineral density of the femur was significantly reduced in the fmARKO mice, indicating possible osteosarcopenia. Microarray and gene ontology analyses revealed that in male fmARKO mice, there was downregulation of polyamine biosynthesis-related geneswhich was confirmed by liquid chromatography-tandem mass spectrometry assay and the primary cultured myofibers. None of the AR deletion-related phenotypes were observed in female fmARKO mice. Our findings showed that the AR pathway had essential muscle type- and sex-specific roles in the differentiation toward fast-twitch fibers and in the maintenance of muscle composition and function. The AR in fast-twitch muscles was the dominant regulator of muscle fiber-type composition and muscle function, including the muscle-bone relationship.

Keywords: androgen; androgen receptor; fast-twitch muscle; polyamine; sarcopenia.