Search PubMedSearch

Biomedical subjects

D Pette

Publications and source records attributed to D Pette.

At least 19 recordsLinked to original sources

Prolonged contraction-relaxation cycle of fast-twitch muscles in parvalbumin knockout mice.

The calcium-binding protein parvalbumin (PV) occurs at high concentrations in fast-contracting vertebrate muscle fibers. Its putative role in facilitating the rapid relaxation of mammalian fast-twitch muscle fibers by acting as a temporary buffer for Ca2+ is still controversial. We generated knockout mice for PV (PV -/-) and compared the Ca2+ transients and the dynamics of contraction of their muscles with those from heterozygous (PV +/-) and wild-type (WT) mice. In the muscles of PV-deficient mice, the decay of intracellular Ca2+ concentration ([Ca2+]i) after 20-ms stimulation was slower compared with WT mice and led to a prolongation of the time required to attain peak twitch tension and to an extension of the half-relaxation time. The integral [Ca2+]i in muscle fibers of PV -/- mice was higher and consequently the force generated during a single twitch was approximately 40% greater than in PV +/- and WT animals. Acceleration of the contraction-relaxation cycle of fast-twitch muscle fibers by PV may confer an advantage in the performance of rapid, phasic movements.

Animals

Changes in satellite cell content and myosin isoforms in low-frequency-stimulated fast muscle of hypothyroid rat.

Chronic low-frequency stimulation was used to study the effects of enhanced contractile activity on satellite cell content and myosin isoform expression in extensor digitorum longus muscles from hypothyroid rats. As verified by immunohistochemical staining for desmin, vimentin, and myosin heavy chain (MHC) isoforms and by histological analysis, stimulation induced a transformation of existing fast fibers toward slower fibers without signs of fiber deterioration or regeneration. Immunohistochemically detected increases in MHC I and MHC IIa isoforms, as well as reduced numbers of fibers expressing the faster MHC isoforms, mirrored the rearrangement of the thick-filament composition. These changes, especially the upregulation of MHC IIa, were accompanied by an induction of developmental MHC isoforms in the transforming adult fibers. Satellite cell content rose 2.6-, 3.0-, and 3.7-fold over that of corresponding controls (P < 0.05 in all cases) in 5-, 10-, and 20-day-stimulated muscles, respectively. Hypothyroidism alone had no effect on satellite cell content but resulted in a significant reduction in fiber size. The relative satellite cell contents increased (P < 0.05) from 3.8% in euthyroid control muscles to 7.9, 11.5, and 13.8% in the 5-, 10-, and 20-day-stimulated hypothyroid muscles, respectively. In 20-day-stimulated muscles, the relative satellite cell content reached an almost twofold higher level than that of normal slow-twitch soleus muscle. This increase occurred concomitantly with a rise in myonuclear density, most probably because of the fusion of satellite cells with existing fibers.

Animals

Quantification of thyroid hormone receptor isoforms, 9-cis retinoic acid receptor gamma, and nuclear receptor co-repressor by reverse-transcriptase PCR in maturing and adult skeletal muscles of rat.

Quantitative competitive reverse-transcriptase polymerase chain reaction (qcRT-PCR) was established for determining absolute molecule numbers of the thyroid hormone receptor (T3R) isoforms T3Ralpha1, T3Ralpha2, T3Rbeta1, and the 9-cis retinoic acid receptor gamma (RXRgamma) in developing and adult fast-twitch extensor digitorum longus (EDL) and slow-twitch soleus (SOL) muscles of rat. Expression levels of the nuclear receptor co-repressor (NCoR) were measured in the same muscles because responses to thyroid hormones during muscle maturation might not only depend on the expression levels of the various receptors but might also be modulated by changes in the expression of NCoR. The qcRT-PCR method was based on the addition of known amounts of homologous competitor RNAs to the reverse transcriptase (RT) reaction. We show that all nuclear receptors under study were expressed in fast and slow muscles. Transcript numbers of T3Rbeta1, which was the most abundant isoform, were higher in SOL than in EDL during all developmental stages. The mRNAs for T3Ralpha1, T3Ralpha2, RXRgamma and the NCoR displayed molecule numbers in similar ranges, but were differentially expressed. T3Ralpha1 mRNA increased in SOL during postnatal development, while T3Ralpha2 mRNA initially decreased, then increased to adult levels. Conversely, pronounced decreases were observed for T3Ralpha1 (10-fold) and T3Ralpha2 (28-fold) mRNAs in the EDL muscle during postnatal maturation. RXRgamma mRNA was 10-fold downregulated during EDL maturation, but unaltered in maturing SOL. NCoR transcript number displayed only minor changes in both muscles.

Aging

Sarcolipin regulates the activity of SERCA1, the fast-twitch skeletal muscle sarcoplasmic reticulum Ca2+-ATPase.

The 31-amino acid proteolipid, sarcolipin (SLN), is associated with the fast-twitch skeletal muscle sarcoplasmic reticulum Ca2+-ATPase (SERCA1). Constructs of human and rabbit SLN and of rabbit SLN with the FLAG epitope at its N terminus (NF-SLN) or its C terminus (SLN-FC) were coexpressed with SERCA1 in HEK-293 T-cells. Immunohistochemistry was used to demonstrate colocalization of NF-SLN and SERCA1 in the endoplasmic reticulum membrane and to demonstrate the cytosolic orientation of the N terminus of SLN. Coexpression of native rabbit SLN or NF-SLN with SERCA1 decreased the apparent affinity of SERCA1 for Ca2+ but stimulated maximal Ca2+ uptake rates (Vmax). The N terminus of SLN is not well conserved among species, and the addition of an N-terminal FLAG epitope did not alter SLN function. Anti-FLAG antibody reversed both the inhibition of Ca2+ uptake by NF-SLN at low Ca2+ concentrations and the stimulatory effect of NF-SLN on Vmax. Addition of the FLAG epitope to the highly conserved C terminus decreased the apparent affinity of SERCA1 for Ca2+ relative to native SLN and decreased Vmax significantly. Mutations in the C-terminal domain showed that this sequence is critical for SLN function. Mutational analysis of the transmembrane helix, together with the additive regulatory effects of coexpression of both SLN and phospholamban (PLN) with SERCA1, provided evidence for different mechanisms of interaction of SLN and PLN with SERCA molecules. Ca2+ uptake rates in sarcoplasmic reticulum vesicles, isolated from rabbit fast-twitch muscle (tibialis anterior) subjected to chronic low frequency stimulation, were reduced by approximately 40% in 3- and 4-day stimulated muscle, with a marginal increase in apparent affinity of SERCA1 for Ca2+. SERCA1 mRNA and protein levels were unaltered after stimulation. In contrast, SLN mRNA was decreased by 15%, and SLN protein was reduced by 40%. Reduced SLN expression could explain the decrease in SERCA1 activity observed in these muscles and might represent an early functional adaptation to chronic low frequency stimulation.

Amino Acid Sequence

Acetylcholinesterase mRNA level and synaptic activity in rat muscles depend on nerve-induced pattern of muscle activation.

Acetylcholinesterase (AChE) mRNA levels are severalfold higher in fast rat muscles compared with slow. We hypothesized that AChE mRNA levels and AChE activity in the neuromuscular junction depend on a specific nerve-induced pattern of motor unit activation. Chronic low-frequency stimulation, mimicking the activation pattern in slow muscles, was applied to fast muscles in rats. Molecular forms of AChE were analyzed by velocity sedimentation, and AChE mRNA levels were analyzed by Northern blots. AChE mRNA levels in stimulated fast muscles dropped to 10-20% of control after 1 week and became comparable to those in slow soleus muscles. The activity of the junctional A12 AChE form in 35 d stimulated fast muscles decreased to 56% of control value, reaching that in the soleus muscle. Therefore, synaptic AChE itself depends on the muscle activation pattern. Complete inactivity after denervation also decreased the AChE mRNA level in fast muscles to <10% in 48 hr. In contrast, profuse fibrillations observed in noninnervated immature regenerating muscles maintain AChE mRNA levels at 80% of that in the innervated fast muscles. If protein synthesis was inhibited by cycloheximide, AChE mRNA levels in 3-d-old regenerating muscle, still containing myoblasts, increased approximately twofold. No significant increase after cycloheximide application was observed either in denervated mature fast muscles or in normal slow muscles. Low AChE mRNA levels observed in those muscles are probably not caused by decreased stability of AChE mRNA as demonstrated in myoblasts.

Acetylcholinesterase

Protein oxidation, tyrosine nitration, and inactivation of sarcoplasmic reticulum Ca2+-ATPase in low-frequency stimulated rabbit muscle.

Sustained contractile activity by chronic low-frequency stimulation in rabbit fast-twitch muscle causes a partial (40-50%) inactivation of the sarcoplasmic reticulum (SR) Ca2+-ATPase and, with prolonged stimulation, a SERCA1a to SERCA2a transition. To investigate the underlying mechanism of the inactivation which precedes the isoform transition, we analyzed SR from 4-day stimulated muscles for Ca2+-ATPase activity, lipid peroxidation, SH and carbonyl groups, and nitrotyrosine. At unaltered SH group and malondialdehyde contents, carbonyl groups were elevated 50% in the SR from stimulated muscles. Immunoblotting with anti-dinitrophenyl and anti-nitrotyrosine antibodies revealed strong labeling of the Ca2+-ATPase, suggesting the inactivation of the enzyme to result from protein oxidation and peroxynitrite-mediated tyrosine nitration.

Animals

Energy state and myosin heavy chain isoforms in single fibres of normal and transforming rabbit muscles.

Energy-rich phosphates, [ATP]/[ADPfree] ratios, and the myosin heavy chain (MHC) complement were determined in single fibres from normal rabbit muscles, and in fibres isolated from tibialis anterior muscle undergoing fast-to-slow conversion by chronic low-frequency stimulation (CLFS). In normal muscles, energy-rich phosphate contents and [ATP]/[ADPfree] ratios could thus be assigned to different MHC-based fibre types. Phosphocreatine (PCr) contents and [ATP]/[ADPfree] ratios differed markedly between fast- and slow-twitch fibres, as well as within the fast fibre subtypes. Both magnitudes were approximately twofold higher in the fastest (type IIB) fibres as compared to the slowest (type I) fibres. According to PCr contents and [ATP]/[ADPfree] ratios pure and hybrid fibres were aligned in an order similar to that determined by their contractile properties and myofibrillar ATPase activities. CLFS for up to 30 days induced pronounced decreases in PCr and [ATP]/[ADPfree] which attained levels twofold lower than in normal slow-twitch fibres. In both normal and stimulated muscles, PCr and [ATP]/[ADPfree] ratios were correlated, indicating their equilibrium in the different fibre types. The relationship detected between MHC isoform expression and the [ATP]/[ADPfree] ratio suggests that the drastic and persistent depression of the cellular energy state may act as an important signal initiating fast-to-slow transformation processes in muscle fibres.

Adenosine Diphosphate

Training effects on the contractile apparatus.

Skeletal muscle is an extremely heterogeneous tissue, composed of a large variety of fibre types. Its dynamical nature is reflected by the ability to adapt to altered functional demands by qualitative alterations in fibre type composition. The molecular basis of this versatility is that specific myofibrillar and Ca2+-regulatory protein isoforms are assembled to functionally specialized fibre types. Based on this diversity, adult muscle fibres are capable of changing their molecular composition by altered gene expression. Myosin heavy chain (MHC) isoforms and their unique expression in 'pure' fibres, as well as their coexpression in 'hybrid' 'fibres' represent the best markers of muscle fibre diversity and adaptive changes. Chronic low-frequency stimulation (CLFS) and endurance training represent highly suitable models for studying the effects of increased neuromuscular activity on myofibrillar protein isoform expression and fibre type composition. Generally, both models induce fast-to-slow transitions in myofibrillar protein isoforms and fibre types. However, the responses to endurance training are quantitatively less pronounced than those in muscles exposed to CLFS. Parallel changes in isoforms of specific myofibrillar or Ca2+-regulatory proteins during the induced fast-to-slow transitions point to the existence of fibre type-specific patterns of gene expression. The fast-to-slow transitions do not proceed in abrupt jumps from one extreme to the other, but occur in a gradual and orderly sequential manner. Depending on the basal protein isoform profile, and hence the position within the fast-slow spectrum, the adaptive ranges of different fibre types vary. However, adaptive ranges not only depend on a particular fibre type, but also are influenced by species-specific properties.

Animals

Changes in myosin heavy chain mRNA and protein isoforms of rat muscle during forced contractile activity.

A quantitative reverse transcriptase-polymerase chain reaction was established to determine absolute amounts of mRNAs specific to four myosin heavy chain isoforms [MHCIIb, MHCIId(x), MHCIIa, and MHCI beta] in rat extensor digitorum longus muscle during forced contractile activity by chronic (10 h/day) low-frequency stimulation (CLFS). The induced changes in absolute and relative mRNA amounts were similar. MHCIIb mRNA decreased rapidly after 1 day, and MHCIIa mRNA increased after 3 days. MHCIId(x) started to decrease at day 7. After 42 days, the MHCIIb, MHCIId(x), MHCIIa, and MHCI beta mRNAs amounted to 2, 6, 90, and 2% of total MHC mRNAs, respectively. Changes at the protein level were studied in a second experimental series increasing CLFS (24 h/day, up to 100 days). Also under these conditions, MHCI beta reached only a fraction of 12% (2-fold elevation). The changes at the protein level remained restricted to the MHCIIb to MHCIIa transition, which agrees with the notion that the induced changes in MHC isoform expression primarily resulted from altered pretranslational activities. Rat fast-twitch muscle thus exhibits a restricted capacity for fast-to-slow conversion.

Adaptation, Physiological

Alpha-cardiac-like myosin heavy chain as an intermediate between MHCIIa and MHCI beta in transforming rabbit muscle.

To elucidate the sequence of myosin heavy chain (MHC) transitions in fast-to-slow transforming rabbit muscle, direct reverse transcriptase-polymerase chain reaction was applied for detecting mRNAs specific to five MHC isoforms in single fibers from control and low-frequency-stimulated tibialis anterior muscles. The detection of MHCIIb, MHCIId(x), MHCI alpha, and MHCI beta mRNAs was based on previously published methods. The RT-PCR assay for MHCIIa mRNA was based on the identification of a cDNA sequence in the 3'-region from which specific primers were derived. Comparisons between rat, rabbit, and human MHCIIa sequences revealed high degrees of sequence identities. MHC mRNA isoform patterns in single fibers from stimulated muscles showed hybrid fibers expressing the following combinations: MHCIId(x) + MHCIIa, MHCIId(x) + MHCIIa + MHCI alpha, MHCIId(x) + MHCIIa + MHCI alpha + MHCI beta, MHCIIa + MHCI alpha, MHCIIa + MHCI alpha + MHCI beta, and MHCI alpha + MHCI beta. The combination MHCIIa + MHCI beta without MHCI alpha was never seen. These coexpression patterns suggest that the fast-to-slow fiber transition results from sequential isoform expressions in the order MHCIId(x)--> MHCIIa-->MHCI alpha-->MHCI beta. The allocation of MHCI alpha between MHCIIa and MHCI beta seems to be in line with graded differences in sequence identity of the 3'-regions of these mRNA isoforms.

Actins

Sequential increases in capillarization and mitochondrial enzymes in low-frequency-stimulated rabbit muscle.

To investigate temporal changes in capillarization and increases in mitochondrial enzyme activity, rabbit tibialis anterior muscles underwent chronic low-frequency stimulation for up to 50 days. Capillary density (CD), capillary-to-fiber ratio (C/F), intercapillary distance (ICD), and mean capillary area (MCA), as well as several other parameters of capillarization, were examined. In addition, tissue levels of mRNA specific to vascular endothelial growth factor (VEGF) were assessed by reverse transcriptase-polymerase chain reaction. Citrate synthase (CS) activity, a marker of aerobic-oxidative metabolic potential, was measured in the same muscles. Significant increases in CD and C/F, respectively, and decreases in ICD and MCA were observed after 2 days. These changes reached stable maxima by 14 days. The increases in capillarization occurred in a fiber-type-specific manner, affecting type IId fibers before types IIda and IIa. VEGF mRNA levels increased in a bimodal time pattern with a first elevation (2.5-fold) after 1 day and a second (9-fold) after 6-8 days. Increases in CS were first noted after 8 days. Obviously, increases in capillarization as induced by enhanced contractile activity precede increases in the aerobic-oxidative potential of energy metabolism.

Aerobiosis

Identical responses of fast muscle to sustained activity by low-frequency stimulation in young and aging rats.

To investigate effects of sustained activity on major phenotypic properties, the left extensor digitorum longus muscle of young (15 wk) and aging (101 wk) male Brown Norway rats was subjected to 50 days of chronic low-frequency stimulation (CLFS; 10 Hz, 10 h/day). The contralateral muscle served as control. Changes in metabolic enzymes were analyzed by using glyceraldehyde-3-phosphate dehydrogenase and lactate dehydrogenase as reference enzymes of glycolysis and by using citrate synthase and 3-hydroxyacyl-CoA dehydrogenase as mitochondrial enzymes representative of aerobic-oxidative metabolism. Myosin heavy chain (MHC) isoforms were analyzed by SDS-PAGE. No differences existed between the enzyme activity profiles of control muscles from young and aging rats. CLFS induced similar increases in mitochondrial enzymes, as well as similar decreases in glycolytic enzymes. Although the MHC composition of the control muscles in the aging rats displayed a shift toward slower isoforms, the ultimate changes induced by CLFS led to nearly identical MHC phenotypes in both young and aging rats. These results demonstrate an unaltered adaptability of skeletal muscle to increased neuromuscular activity in the aging rat.

3-Hydroxyacyl CoA Dehydrogenases

Cytoarchitectural and metabolic adaptations in muscles with mitochondrial and cytosolic creatine kinase deficiencies.

We have blocked creatine kinase (CK) mediated phosphocreatine (PCr) <==> ATP transphosphorylation in mitochondria and cytosol of skeletal muscle by knocking out the genes for the mitochondrial (ScCKmit) and the cytosolic (M-CK) CK isoforms in mice. Animals which carry single or double mutations, if kept and tested under standard laboratory conditions, have surprisingly mild changes in muscle physiology. Strenuous ex vivo conditions were necessary to reveal that MM-CK absence in single and double mutants leads to a partial loss of tetanic force output. Single ScCKmit deficiency has no noticeable effects but in combination the mutations cause slowing of the relaxation rate. Importantly, our studies revealed that there is metabolic and cytoarchitectural adaptation to CK defects in energy metabolism. The effects involve mutation type-dependent alterations in the levels of AMP, IMP, glycogen and phosphomonoesters, changes in activity of metabolic enzymes like AMP-deaminase, alterations in mitochondrial volume and contractile protein (MHC isoform) profiles, and a hyperproliferation of the terminal cysternae of the SR (in tubular aggregates). This suggests that there is a compensatory resiliency of loss-of-function and redirection of flux distributions in the metabolic network for cellular energy in our mutants.

Animals

Specificity and target proteins of arginine-specific mono-ADP-ribosylation in T-tubules of rabbit skeletal muscle.

In order to specify that protein labeling is the result of mono-ADP ribosylation, a careful evaluation of the reaction conditions and products is necessary. To investigate the specificity and target proteins of the arginine-specific mono-ADP-ribosyltransferase (mADP-RT) in rabbit skeletal muscle T-tubules (TT) biotin- or digoxigenin-coupled NAD-derivatives were synthesized. They were used for the nonradioactive labeling of proteins and compared with radioactive mono-ADP-ribosylation. According to the results of our studies, they cannot be used as substrates to detect arginine-specific or pertussis toxin-dependent mono-ADP-ribosylation of target proteins in skeletal muscle. In contrast, radioactive NAD can be used to monitor these reactions. Under the appropriate reaction conditions, the radioactive [adenylate-14C]NAD and [32P]NAD were found to be solely consumed by the arginine-specific mADP-RT of skeletal muscle TT. The incorporation studies confirmed earlier data on the localization of the mADP-RT and its targets in TT. The T-tubular targets were purified in a single-step procedure using phenylboronate affinity chromatography. Of 18 target proteins delineated by autoradiography of electrophoretically separated T-tubular proteins, a 42-kDa protein was suggested to be the stimulatory G protein (Gsalpha). Mono-ADP-ribosylation of Gsalpha resulted in an inhibition of the T-tubular adenylate cyclase activity as proven by the suppression of this inhibition using novobiocin as a specific inhibitor of mADP-RT.

ADP Ribose Transferases

Quantitative analyses of myosin heavy-chain mRNA and protein isoforms in single fibers reveal a pronounced fiber heterogeneity in normal rabbit muscles.

A highly sensitive method of reverse-transcriptase polymerase chain reaction (RT-PCR) was established to study myosin heavy-chain (MHC) mRNA isoform expression in single fibers of rabbit limb muscles. In combination with myofibrillar adenosine triphosphatase histochemistry and electrophoretic separation of MHC protein isoforms in fragments of the same fibers, the direct RT-PCR method identified the pMHC20-40 and pMHC24-79 cDNA sequences as being specific to MHCIIb and MHCIId/x isoforms, respectively. In addition, a direct RT-PCR was established for determining relative amounts of MHC mRNA isoforms by using a sequence specific to alpha-skeletal actin as an endogenous reference. Analyses of large amounts of single fibers revealed an unexpected heterogeneity of the fast fiber population with regard to numerous fibers coexpressing MHCIIb and MHCIId/x. Based on quantitative RT-PCR, the percentages of MHCIIb/MHCIId hybrid fibers amounted to approximately 55% in the deep portion of gastrocnemius, to 43% in the adductor magnus, and to 12% in psoas muscle. Moreover, the two MHC mRNA isoforms were nonuniformly distributed along the fiber length. Qualitative RT-PCR detected even higher amounts of hybrid fibers in the three muscles. The percentages of hybrid fibers identified at the protein level were smaller in adductor magnus muscle (25%) and psoas muscle (5%), but equaled that of the mRNA analysis in gastrocnemius muscle (61%). The detection of high amounts of IIBD and IIDB fibers suggested that hybrid fibers represent functional elements within the fiber spectrum of normal muscles. Our observations on hybrid fibers reveal a heterogeneity within the fiber population of normal muscles that has not been realized to date.

Animals

Quantification of MyoD, myogenin, MRF4 and Id-1 by reverse-transcriptase polymerase chain reaction in rat muscles--effects of hypothyroidism and chronic low-frequency stimulation.

A highly sensitive method of reverse-transcriptase polymerase chain reaction (RT-PCR) was established to quantify transcript levels of the myogenic regulatory factors MyoD, myogenin and MRF4 (muscle regulatory factor 4) and for Id-1 (inhibitor of differentiation), a putative negative regulator of myogenesis. The method was sensitive enough to detect mRNA amounts as low as 20 molecules. Measurements in 10 different skeletal muscles of the rat revealed that the amounts of the four factors differ by almost three orders of magnitude. Id-1 is expressed at lowest levels (approximately 4x10(5) molecules/microg RNA) and MRF4 at highest levels (approximately 9x10(7) molecules/microg RNA). In general, myogenin and MyoD mRNAs were inversely distributed in slow and fast muscles. A correlation seemed to exist between the levels of MyoD and myosin heavy chain (MHC) IIb, the fastest MHC isoform. However, as revealed by changes in the expression levels of these two regulatory factors under conditions of hypothyroidism and chronic low-frequency stimulation (CLFS), MyoD and myogenin did not seem to be strictly correlated with fast and slow myosins, respectively. Hypothyroidism led to pronounced depressions of MyoD, but only to small increases in myogenin mRNA in fast muscles. These changes were only slightly increased by CLFS. However, as previously shown, CLFS in combination with hypothyroidism induces in rat muscle pronounced fast to slow transitions in myosin expression [Kirschbaum, B. J., Kucher. H.-B., Termin, A., Kelly, A. M. & Pette, D. (1990) J. Biol. Chem. 265, 13974-13980]. These findings suggest that MyoD and myogenin may not be causally related to the development and maintenance of fiber-type diversities.

Animals

Two functionally distinct myosin heavy chain isoforms in slow skeletal muscle fibres.

The head part of the myosin heavy chain (MHC) represents the essential component of the molecular force-generating system of muscle [1-3]. To date, three fast but only one slow MHC isoforms have been identified in adult mammalian limb muscles [4,5]. We show here two functionally different slow MHC isoforms, MHCIbeta and MHCIa, coexisting in a considerable fraction of slow fibres of rabbit plantaris muscle. The two isoforms exhibit distinct electrophoretic mobilities and different kinetic properties. Thus, as it is known for the fast muscle, also the slow muscle seems to use different MHC isoforms in order to fulfil different functional demands.

Animals