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Muscle wasting and interleukin-6-induced atrogin-I expression in the cachectic Apc Min/+ mouse

  • Integrative Physiology
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Abstract

Interleukin-6 (IL-6) is necessary for cachexia in Apc Min/+ mice, but the mechanisms inducing this myofiber wasting have not been established. The purpose of this study was to examine gastrocnemius muscle wasting in the Apc Min/+ mouse and to determine IL-6 regulated mechanisms contributing to muscle loss. Gastrocnemius type IIB mean fiber cross-sectional area (CSA) from Apc Min/+ mice decreased 32% between 13 and 22 weeks of age. Apc Min/+ mice lacking IL-6 did not have type IIB fiber atrophy, while overexpression of circulating IL-6 exacerbated the loss of type IIB fiber CSA in Apc Min/+ mice. Muscle Atrogin-I mRNA expression was induced at least ninefold at 18 and 22 weeks of age compared to 13-week-old mice. Atrogin-I gene expression was also induced by overexpression of circulating IL-6. These data suggest that high circulating IL-6 levels induce type IIB fiber CSA loss in Apc Min/+ mice, and circulating IL-6 is sufficient to regulate Atrogin-I gene expression in cachectic mice.

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Acknowledgements

The authors would like to thank Tia Davis, Joseph McClung, and April Wilson for technical assistance. The research described in this report was supported by the National Institutes of Health (NIH) Grant P20 RR-017698 from the National Center for Research Resources. Its contents are solely the responsibility of the authors and do not necessarily represent the official views of the NIH.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Integrative Muscle Biology Laboratory, Exercise Science Department, University of South Carolina, Columbia, SC, USA

    Kristen A. Baltgalvis, J. Mark Davis, James P. White & James A. Carson

  2. Department of Biological Sciences, University of South Carolina, Columbia, SC, USA

    Franklin G. Berger & Maria Marjorette O. Peña

  3. Center for Colon Cancer Research, University of South Carolina, Columbia, SC, USA

    Kristen A. Baltgalvis, Franklin G. Berger, Maria Marjorette O. Peña & James A. Carson

  4. Department of Exercise Science, University of South Carolina, Public Health Research Center, 921 Assembly St., Room 405, Columbia, SC, 29208, USA

    James A. Carson

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  1. Kristen A. Baltgalvis
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Correspondence to James A. Carson.

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Baltgalvis, K.A., Berger, F.G., Peña, M.M.O. et al. Muscle wasting and interleukin-6-induced atrogin-I expression in the cachectic Apc Min/+ mouse. Pflugers Arch - Eur J Physiol 457, 989–1001 (2009). https://doi.org/10.1007/s00424-008-0574-6

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s00424-008-0574-6

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