Striated muscle activator of Rho signalling (STARS) is reduced in ageing human skeletal muscle and targeted by miR-628-5p.

AIM: The striated muscle activator of Rho signalling (STARS) is a muscle-specific actin-binding protein. The STARS signalling pathway is activated by resistance exercise and is anticipated to play a role in signal mechanotransduction. Animal studies have reported a negative regulation of STARS signalling with age, but such regulation has not been investigated in humans. METHODS: Ten young (18-30 years) and 10 older (60-75 years) subjects completed an acute bout of resistance exercise. Gene and protein expression of members of the STARS signalling pathway and miRNA expression of a subset of miRNAs, predicted or known to target members of STARS signalling pathway, were measured in muscle biopsies collected pre-exercise and 2 h post-exercise. RESULTS: For the first time, we report a significant downregulation of the STARS protein in older subjects. However, there was no effect of age on the magnitude of STARS activation in response to an acute bout of exercise. Finally, we established that miR-628-5p, a miRNA regulated by age and exercise, binds to the STARS 3'UTR to directly downregulate its transcription. CONCLUSION: This study describes for the first time the resistance exercise-induced regulation of STARS signalling in skeletal muscle from older humans and identifies a new miRNA involved in the transcriptional control of STARS.

Associations of sedentary time patterns and TV viewing time with inflammatory and endothelial function biomarkers in children.

OBJECTIVE: Investigate associations of TV viewing time and accelerometry-derived sedentary time with inflammatory and endothelial function biomarkers in children. METHODS: Cross-sectional analysis of 164 7-10-year-old children. TV viewing time was assessed by parental proxy report and total and patterns of sedentary time accumulation (e.g. prolonged bouts) were assessed by accelerometry. C-reactive protein (CRP), homeostasis model assessment of insulin resistance, interleukin-2, -6, -8, -10, tumour necrosis factor alpha, adiponectin, resistin, brain-derived neurotrophic factor, soluble intercellular and vascular adhesion molecule 1, plasminogen activator inhibitor 1 and soluble E-selectin were assessed. Generalised linear models assessed the associations of TV viewing and sedentary time with biomarkers, adjusting for sex, waist circumference, moderate- to vigorous-intensity physical activity and diet density. RESULTS: Each additional h week(-1) of TV viewing was associated with 4.4% (95% CI: 2.1, 6.7) greater CRP and 0.6% (0.2, 1.0) greater sVCAM-1 in the fully adjusted model. The association between frequency and duration of 5-10 min bouts of sedentary time and CRP was positive after adjustment for sex and waist circumference but attenuated after adjustment for diet density. CONCLUSIONS: This study suggests that TV viewing was unfavourably associated with several markers of inflammation and endothelial dysfunction. The detrimental association between 5 and 10 min bouts of sedentary time and CRP approached significance, suggesting that further research with a stronger study design (longitudinal and/or experimental) is needed to better understand how the accumulation of sedentary time early in life may influence short and longer term health.