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METHODS IN CELL PHYSIOLOGY
1Faculty of Veterinary Medicine and 2Department of Biology, Academic Biomedical Centre, Utrecht University, Utrecht, The Netherlands; and 3Institute of Biochemistry and Molecular Biology II: Molecular Cell Biology, University Medical Center Hamburg-Eppendorf, Hamburg, Germany
Submitted 7 April 2005 ; accepted in final form 12 September 2005
Myofiber atrophy is the final outcome of muscle wasting induced by catabolic factors such as glucocorticoids and thyroid hormones. We set up an in vitro system to define the catabolic reaction based on myotube atrophy. Both mouse C2C12 and rat L6 cells were used. C2C12 myotube formation was improved by replacing horse serum with the serum substitute Ultroser G. A new method was developed to quantify size changes of large (0.51 mm) myotubes only, excluding remaining myoblasts and small myotubes. Dexamethasone reduced myotube size by 30% in L6 but not in C2C12 myotubes. Expression of the glucocorticoid receptor was twofold higher in L6 myotubes than in C2C12 myotubes. In both cell lines, 3,3',5-triiodo-L-thyronine (T3) did not induce a significant size reduction. Expression of the major T3 receptor (T3R
1) was higher in L6 myotubes. We investigated whether the changes in myotube size are related to changes in atrogin-1 expression, as this enzyme is thought to be a key factor in the initiation of muscle atrophy. Dexamethasone induced a twofold increase of atrogin-1 mRNA; again, only L6 myotubes were susceptible. Interestingly, atrogin-1 expression in Ultroser G-fused C2C12 myotubes was lower than that in horse serum-fused myotubes. Furthermore, dexamethasone treatment increased atrogin-1 expression only in horse serum-fused myotubes but not in Ultroser G-fused myotubes. Ultroser G-induced fusion may result in atrophy-resistant C2C12 myotubes. Therefore, C2C12 myotubes offer an ideal system in which to study skeletal muscle atrophy because, depending on differentiation conditions, C2C12 cells produce atrophy-inducible and atrophy-resistant myotubes.
glucocorticoids; nuclear receptors; atrogin
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