Calcium's role in mechanotransduction during muscle development.

Mechanotransduction is a process where cells sense their surroundings and convert the physical forces in their environment into an appropriate response. Calcium plays a crucial role in the translation of such forces to biochemical signals that control various biological processes fundamental in muscle development. The mechanical stimulation of muscle cells may for example result from stretch, electric and magnetic stimulation, shear stress, and altered gravity exposure. The response, mainly involving changes in intracellular calcium concentration then leads to a cascade of events by the activation of downstream signaling pathways. The key calcium-dependent pathways described here include the nuclear factor of activated T cells (NFAT) and mitogen-activated protein kinase (MAPK) activation. The subsequent effects in cellular homeostasis consist of cytoskeletal remodeling, cell cycle progression, growth, differentiation, and apoptosis, all necessary for healthy muscle development, repair, and regeneration. A deregulation from the normal process due to disuse, trauma, or disease can result in a clinical condition such as muscle atrophy, which entails a significant loss of muscle mass. In order to develop therapies against such diseased states, we need to better understand the relevance of calcium signaling and the downstream responses to mechanical forces in skeletal muscle. The purpose of this review is to discuss in detail how diverse mechanical stimuli cause changes in calcium homeostasis by affecting membrane channels and the intracellular stores, which in turn regulate multiple pathways that impart these effects and control the fate of muscle tissue.

Impedance flow cytometry gauges proliferative capacity by detecting TRPC1 expression.

When examined, the expansion of many stem cell classes has been shown to be facilitated by mechanically-regulated calcium entry from the extracellular space that also helps direct their developmental programs towards mechanosensitive tissues such as muscle, bone, and connective tissues. Cation channels of the transient receptor potential C class (TRPC) are the predominant conduit for calcium entry into proliferating myoblasts. Nonetheless, methods to non-invasively study this calcium-entry pathway are still in their infancy. Here we show that a microfluidic configuration of impedance-based flow cytometry (IFC) provides a method to detect TRP channel expression in cells at high throughput. Using this technology we discern changes in the IFC signal that correlates with the functional expression of TRPC1 channels and coincides with cell proliferation. Pharmacological agents, mechanical conditions or malignant states that alter the expression of TRPC1 channels are reflected in the IFC signal accordingly, whereas pharmacological agents that alter cation-permeation through TRPC1 channels, or ionophores that independently increase calcium entry across the membrane, have little effect. Our results suggest that IFC detects changes in whole-cell membrane organization associated with TRPC1 activation and surface expression, rather than cation permeation through the channel per se. IFC-based technologies thus have the potential to identify living stem cells in their earliest stages of expansion without staining or chemical fixation.

Calcium-dependent deceleration of the cell cycle in muscle cells by simulated microgravity.

Of all our mechanosensitive tissues, skeletal muscle is the most developmentally responsive to physical activity. Conversely, restricted mobility due to injury or disease results in muscle atrophy. Gravitational force is another form of mechanical input with profound developmental consequences. The mechanical unloading resulting from the reduced gravitational force experienced during spaceflight results in oxidative muscle loss. We examined the early stages of myogenesis under conditions of simulated microgravity (SM). C2C12 mouse myoblasts in SM proliferated more slowly (2.23× less) as a result of their being retained longer within the G2/M phase of the cell cycle (2.10× more) relative to control myoblasts at terrestrial gravity. Blocking calcium entry via TRP channels with SKF-96365 (10-20 µM) accumulated myoblasts within the G2/M phase of the cell cycle and retarded their proliferation. On the genetic level, SM resulted in the reduced expression of TRPC1 and IGF-1 isoforms, transcriptional events regulated by calcium downstream of mechanical input. A decrease in TRPC1-mediated calcium entry thus appears to be a pivotal event in the muscle atrophy brought on by gravitational mechanical unloading. Hence, relieving the constant force of gravity on cells might prove one valid experimental approach to expose the underlying mechanisms modulating mechanically regulated developmental programs.

Cell cultivation under different gravitational loads using a novel random positioning incubator.

Important in biotechnology is the establishment of cell culture methods that reflect the in vivo situation accurately. One approach for reaching this goal is through 3D cell cultivation that mimics tissue or organ structures and functions. We present here a newly designed and constructed random positioning incubator (RPI) that enables 3D cell culture in simulated microgravity (0 g). In addition to growing cells in a weightlessness-like environment, our RPI enables long-duration cell cultivation under various gravitational loads, ranging from close to 0 g to almost 1 g. This allows the study of the mechanotransductional process of cells involved in the conversion of physical forces to an appropriate biochemical response. Gravity is a type of physical force with profound developmental implications in cellular systems as it modulates the resulting signaling cascades as a consequence of mechanical loading. The experiments presented here were conducted on mouse skeletal myoblasts and human lymphocytes, two types of cells that have been shown in the past to be particularly sensitive to changes in gravity. Our novel RPI will expand the horizon at which mechanobiological experiments are conducted. The scientific data gathered may not only improve the sustainment of human life in space, but also lead to the design of alternative countermeasures against diseases related to impaired mechanosensation and downstream signaling processes on earth.

Variants in SLC18A3, vesicular acetylcholine transporter, cause congenital myasthenic syndrome.

OBJECTIVE: To describe the clinical and genetic characteristics of presynaptic congenital myasthenic syndrome secondary to biallelic variants in SLC18A3. METHODS: Individuals from 2 families were identified with biallelic variants in SLC18A3, the gene encoding the vesicular acetylcholine transporter (VAChT), through whole-exome sequencing. RESULTS: The patients demonstrated features seen in presynaptic congenital myasthenic syndrome, including ptosis, ophthalmoplegia, fatigable weakness, apneic crises, and deterioration of symptoms in cold water for patient 1. Both patients demonstrated moderate clinical improvement on pyridostigmine. Patient 1 had a broader phenotype, including learning difficulties and left ventricular dysfunction. Electrophysiologic studies were typical for a presynaptic defect. Both patients showed profound electrodecrement on low-frequency repetitive stimulation followed by a prolonged period of postactivation exhaustion. In patient 1, this was unmasked only after isometric contraction, a recognized feature of presynaptic disease, emphasizing the importance of activation procedures. CONCLUSIONS: VAChT is responsible for uptake of acetylcholine into presynaptic vesicles. The clinical and electrographic characteristics of the patients described are consistent with previously reported mouse models of VAChT deficiency. These findings make it very likely that defects in VAChT due to variants in SLC18A3 are a cause of congenital myasthenic syndrome in humans.

Gravitational force modulates G2/M phase exit in mechanically unloaded myoblasts.

Prolonged spaceflight gives rise to muscle loss and reduced strength, a condition commonly referred to as space atrophy. During exposure to microgravity, skeletal muscle myoblasts are mechanically unloaded and respond with attenuated cell proliferation, slowed cell cycle progression, and modified protein expression. To elucidate the underlying mechanisms by which muscle mass declines in response to prolonged microgravity exposure, we grew C2C12 mouse muscle cells under conditions of simulated microgravity (SM) and analyzed their proliferative capacity, cell cycle progression, and cyclin B and D expression. We demonstrated that the retarded cell growth observed in SM was correlated with an approximate 16 h delay in G2/M phase progression, where cells accumulated specifically between the G2 checkpoint and the onset of anaphase, concomitantly with a positive expression for cyclin B. The effect was specific for gravitational mechanical unloading as cells grown under conditions of hypergravity (HG, 4 g) for similar durations of time exhibited normal proliferation and normal cell cycle progression. Our results show that SM and HG exert phenomenological distinct responses over cell cycle progression. The deficits of SM can be restored by terrestrial gravitational force, whereas the effects of HG are indistinguishable from the 1 g control. This suggests that the mechanotransduction apparatus of cells responds differently to mechanical unloading and loading.