Creatine supplementation improves intracellular Ca2+ handling and survival in mdx skeletal muscle cells.

Dystrophic skeletal muscle cells from Duchenne muscular dystrophy (DMD) patients and mdx mice exhibit elevated cytosolic Ca2+ concentrations ([Ca2+]c). Pretreatment of mdr myotubes for 6-12 days with creatine (20 mM) decreased the elevation in [Ca2+]c induced by either high extracellular Ca2+ concentrations or hypo-osmotic stress to control levels. 45Ca2+ influx measurements suggest that creatine lowered [Ca2+]c by stimulating sarcoplasmic reticulum Ca2+-ATPase. Creatine pretreatment increased levels of phosphocreatine but not ATP. Furthermore, myotube formation and survival were significantly enhanced by creatine pretreatment. Therefore, creatine supplementation may be useful for treatment of DMD.

Biphasic effects of cyclosporin A on formyl-methionyl-leucyl-phenylalanine stimulated responses in HL-60 cells differentiated into neutrophils.

The immunosuppressive drug cyclosporin A (CsA) depresses neutrophil oxidative burst which may lead to an increased susceptibility to infection in transplant patients. Using specific CsA analogues we investigated the mechanism of inhibition of the oxidative burst and evaluated short and long-term effects of CsA on dimethylsulphoxide-differentiated HL-60 neutrophils. A biphasic pattern was observed: a 4 h pre-treatment with CsA (1 microM) diminished the fMLP induced [Ca2+]c rise, reactive oxygen species (ROS) production, and beta-glucuronidase release by about 40%, whereas a 20 h pre-treatment increased these responses by about 1.5 fold. [MeVal4]CsA, which binds with high affinity to cyclophilin but inhibits the interaction of the CsA-cyclophilin complex with calcineurin, blocked the stimulation observed with CsA after a 20 h incubation but did not alter the CsA effects after a 4 h pre-treatment. PSC 833 (1 microM), a potent multi drug resistance transporter (MDR) inhibitor, diminished ROS production to the same extent as a 4 h CsA incubation but was ineffective after a 20 h pre-treatment. An involvement of MDR as a basis for CsA or PSC 833 action was ruled out based on the results of the calcein retention assay. [3H]CsA uptake showed that CsA and [MeVal4]CsA, but not CsH or PSC 833 were strongly taken up and retained by the cells. In conclusion, the reduction of the responses after 4 h appear to be due to a primary reduction of calcium signalling, while the enhanced responses after 20 h may be due to calcineurin inhibition.

Erythropoietin stimulates proliferation and interferes with differentiation of myoblasts.

Erythropoietin (Epo) is required for the production of mature red blood cells. The requirement for Epo and its receptor (EpoR) for normal heart development and the response of vascular endothelium and cells of neural origin to Epo provide evidence that the function of Epo as a growth factor or cytokine to protect cells from apoptosis extends beyond the hematopoietic lineage. We now report that the EpoR is expressed on myoblasts and can mediate a biological response of these cells to treatment with Epo. Primary murine satellite cells and myoblast C2C12 cells, both of which express endogenous EpoR, exhibit a proliferative response to Epo and a marked decrease in terminal differentiation to form myotubes. We also observed that Epo stimulation activates Jak2/Stat5 signal transduction and increases cytoplasmic calcium, which is dependent on tyrosine phosphorylation. In erythroid progenitor cells, Epo stimulates induction of transcription factor GATA-1 and EpoR; in C2C12 cells, GATA-3 and EpoR expression are induced. The decrease in differentiation of C2C12 cells is concomitant with an increase in Myf-5 and MyoD expression and inhibition of myogenin induction during differentiation, altering the pattern of expression of the MyoD family of transcription factors during muscle differentiation. These data suggest that, rather than acting in an instructive or specific mode for differentiation, Epo can stimulate proliferation of myoblasts to expand the progenitor population during differentiation and may have a potential role in muscle development or repair.