Inhibition of sphingolipid de novo synthesis counteracts muscular dystrophy.

Duchenne muscular dystrophy (DMD), the most common muscular dystrophy, is a severe muscle disorder, causing muscle weakness, loss of independence, and premature death. Here, we establish the link between sphingolipids and muscular dystrophy. Transcripts of sphingolipid de novo biosynthesis pathway are up-regulated in skeletal muscle of patients with DMD and other muscular dystrophies, which is accompanied by accumulation of metabolites of the sphingolipid pathway in muscle and plasma. Pharmacological inhibition of sphingolipid synthesis by myriocin in the mdx mouse model of DMD ameliorated the loss in muscle function while reducing inflammation, improving Ca2+ homeostasis, preventing fibrosis of the skeletal muscle, heart, and diaphragm, and restoring the balance between M1 and M2 macrophages. Myriocin alleviated the DMD phenotype more than glucocorticoids. Our study identifies inhibition of sphingolipid synthesis, targeting multiple pathogenetic pathways simultaneously, as a strong candidate for treatment of muscular dystrophies.

Genetic background and sex control the outcome of high-fat diet feeding in mice.

The sharp increase in obesity prevalence worldwide is mainly attributable to changes in physical activity and eating behavior but the metabolic and clinical impacts of these obesogenic conditions vary between sexes and genetic backgrounds. This warrants personalized treatments of obesity and its complications, which require a thorough understanding of the diversity of metabolic responses to high-fat diet intake. By analyzing nine genetically diverse mouse strains, we show that much like humans, mice exhibit a huge variety of physiological and biochemical responses to high-fat diet. The strains exhibit various degrees of alterations in their phenotypic makeup. At the transcriptome level, we observe dysregulations of immunity, translation machinery, and mitochondrial genes. At the biochemical level, the enzymatic activity of mitochondrial complexes is affected. The diversity across mouse strains, diets, and sexes parallels that found in humans and supports the use of diverse mouse populations in future mechanistic or preclinical studies on metabolic dysfunctions.

Sphingolipids accumulate in aged muscle, and their reduction counteracts sarcopenia.

Age-related muscle dysfunction and sarcopenia are major causes of physical incapacitation in older adults and currently lack viable treatment strategies. Here we find that sphingolipids accumulate in mouse skeletal muscle upon aging and that both genetic and pharmacological inhibition of sphingolipid synthesis prevent age-related decline in muscle mass while enhancing strength and exercise capacity. Inhibition of sphingolipid synthesis confers increased myogenic potential and promotes protein synthesis. Within the sphingolipid pathway, we show that accumulation of dihydroceramides is the culprit disturbing myofibrillar homeostasis. The relevance of sphingolipid pathways in human aging is demonstrated in two cohorts, the UK Biobank and Helsinki Birth Cohort Study in which gene expression-reducing variants of SPTLC1 and DEGS1 are associated with improved and reduced fitness of older individuals, respectively. These findings identify sphingolipid synthesis inhibition as an attractive therapeutic strategy for age-related sarcopenia and co-occurring pathologies.

Urolithin A improves muscle function by inducing mitophagy in muscular dystrophy.

Duchenne muscular dystrophy (DMD) is the most common muscular dystrophy, and despite advances in genetic and pharmacological disease-modifying treatments, its management remains a major challenge. Mitochondrial dysfunction contributes to DMD, yet the mechanisms by which this occurs remain elusive. Our data in experimental models and patients with DMD show that reduced expression of genes involved in mitochondrial autophagy, or mitophagy, contributes to mitochondrial dysfunction. Mitophagy markers were reduced in skeletal muscle and in muscle stem cells (MuSCs) of a mouse model of DMD. Administration of the mitophagy activator urolithin A (UA) rescued mitophagy in DMD worms and mice and in primary myoblasts from patients with DMD, increased skeletal muscle respiratory capacity, and improved MuSCs' regenerative ability, resulting in the recovery of muscle function and increased survival in DMD mouse models. These data indicate that restoration of mitophagy alleviates symptoms of DMD and suggest that UA may have potential therapeutic applications for muscular dystrophies.

Acute RyR1 Ca2+ leak enhances NADH-linked mitochondrial respiratory capacity.

Sustained ryanodine receptor (RyR) Ca2+ leak is associated with pathological conditions such as heart failure or skeletal muscle weakness. We report that a single session of sprint interval training (SIT), but not of moderate intensity continuous training (MICT), triggers RyR1 protein oxidation and nitrosylation leading to calstabin1 dissociation in healthy human muscle and in in vitro SIT models (simulated SIT or S-SIT). This is accompanied by decreased sarcoplasmic reticulum Ca2+ content, increased levels of mitochondrial oxidative phosphorylation proteins, supercomplex formation and enhanced NADH-linked mitochondrial respiratory capacity. Mechanistically, (S-)SIT increases mitochondrial Ca2+ uptake in mouse myotubes and muscle fibres, and decreases pyruvate dehydrogenase phosphorylation in human muscle and mouse myotubes. Countering Ca2+ leak or preventing mitochondrial Ca2+ uptake blunts S-SIT-induced adaptations, a result supported by proteomic analyses. Here we show that triggering acute transient Ca2+ leak through RyR1 in healthy muscle may contribute to the multiple health promoting benefits of exercise.

MicroRNA miR-222 mediates pioglitazone beneficial effects on skeletal muscle of diet-induced obese mice.

Pioglitazone belongs to the class of drugs thiazolidinediones (TZDs) and is an oral hypoglycemic drug, used in the treatment of type 2 diabetes, which improves insulin sensitivity in target tissues. Adipose tissue is the main target of pioglitazone, a PPARg and PPARa agonist; however, studies also point to skeletal muscle as a target. Non-PPAR targets of TZDs have been described, thus we aimed to study the direct effects of pioglitazone on skeletal muscle and the possible role of microRNAs as targets of this drug. Pioglitazone treatment of obese mice increased insulin-mediated glucose transport as a result of increased fatty acid oxidation and mitochondrial activity. PPARg blockage by treatment with GW9662 nullified pioglitazone's effect on systemic and muscle insulin sensitivity and citrate synthase activity of obese mice. After eight weeks of high-fat diet, miR-221-3p expression in soleus muscle was similar among the groups and miR-23b-3p and miR-222-3p were up-regulated in obese mice compared to the control group, and treatment with pioglitazone was able to reverse this condition. In vitro studies in C2C12 cells suggest that inhibition of miR-222-3p protects C2C12 cells from insulin resistance and increased non-mitochondrial respiration induced by palmitate. Together, these data demonstrate a role of pioglitazone in the downregulation of microRNAs that is not dependent on PPARg. Moreover, miR-222 may be a novel PPARg-independent mechanism through which pioglitazone improves insulin sensitivity in skeletal muscle.