Plasma Membrane Of Myoblasts Research Articles

Discrete localization patterns of Arf6, and its activators EFA6A and BRAG2, and its effector PIP5kinaseγ on myofibrils of myotubes and plasma membranes of myoblasts in developing skeletal muscles of mice

Arf6 (ADP ribosylation factor 6), activated by Arf-GEF (guanine nucleoside exchange factor), is involved in the membrane trafficking and actin-remodeling which are critical for maintenance of cell organization and activity and for fusion of myoblasts to form myotubes/myofibers. EFA6A (exchange factor for Arf6 type A) and BRAG2 (brefeldin A-resistant Arf-GEF 2) represent members of discrete subfamilies of Arf-GEF, while PIP5Kγ (phosphatidylinositol4-phosphate5-kinase γ) produces PI 4,5-bisphosphate (PIP2) and it is target for Arf6. In the present study, immunoreactive bands for Arf6, EFA6A, BRAG2 and PIP5Kγ were detected in immunoblots of skeletal muscle homogenates of mice at E18D (embryonic day 18), while the bands for Arf6, EFA6A and PIP5Kγ were reduced in density and no significant bands for BRAG2 were discerned at P1D (postnatal 1 day). No immunoblot bands for any of the molecules were eventually detected in skeletal fibers of adult mice. Immunoreactivities for endogenous Arf6, EFA6A and PIP5Kγ were visualized using immuno-light microscopy localized as periodic striations running perpendicular to the longitudinal axes of skeletal muscle fibers of mice at E18D and P1D. All the striations were co-immunoreactive for β-actin in double immunofluorescence microscopy, and the immunoreactivities were confined to thin myofilaments at sarcomeric I-domains in immuno-electron microscopy. On the other hand, immunoreactivities for Arf6, BRAG2 and PIP5Kγ were conspicuous on plasmalemma of myoblasts at E14D, while immunoreactivity for EFA6A was already distinct in striations perpendicular to myofibrils in myotubes at E14D. The present findings suggest three possibilities: involvement of EFA6A-activated Arf6 together with PIP5Kγ in maturation of myofibrils, movement of Arf6 and PIP5Kγ from the plasmalemma of myoblasts to myofibrils of myotubes, and that of BRAG2 to the cytoplasm of myotubes; and further a function of EFA6A independent of the activation of Arf6 in immature myofibrils. In addition, the involvement of Arf6, BRAG2 and PIP5Kγ in the fusion of myoblasts into myotubes was supported by the present finding.

Caveolae-mediated effects of TNF-α on human skeletal muscle cells

Chronic diseases are characterized by the production of pro-inflammatory cytokines such than TNF-α and are frequently correlated with muscle wasting conditions. Among the pleiotropic effects of TNF-α within the cell, its binding to TNFR1 receptor has been shown to activate sphingomyelinases leading to the production of ceramides. Sphingomyelinases and TNF receptor have been localized within caveolae which are specialized RAFT enriched in cholesterol and sphingolipids. Because of their inverted omega shape, maintained by the oligomerization of specialized proteins, caveolins and cavins, caveolae serve as membrane reservoir therefore providing mechanical protection to plasma membranes. Although sphingolipids metabolites, caveolins and TNF-α/TNFR1 have been shown to independently interfere with muscle physiology, no data have clearly demonstrated their concerted action on muscle cell regeneration. In this context, our study aimed at studying the molecular mechanisms induced by TNF-α at the level of caveolae in LHCN-M2 human muscle satellite cells. Here we showed that TNF-α-induced production of ROS and nSMase activation requires caveolin. More strikingly, we have demonstrated that TNF-α induces the formation of additional caveolae at the plasma membrane of myoblasts. Furthermore, TNF-α prevents myoblast fusion suggesting that inflammation could modulate caveolae organization/function and satellite cell function.

Oxidative Stress and Plasma Membrane Repair in Single Myoblasts After Femtosecond Laser Photoporation.

Cell membranes are susceptible to biophysical damages. These biophysical damages often present themselves in challenging oxidative environments, such as in chronic inflammation. Here we report the damage evolution after single myoblasts were individually subjected to femtosecond (fs) laser photoporation on their plasma membranes under normal and oxidative conditions. A well-characterized tunable fs laser was coupled with a laser scanning confocal microscope. The post-damage wound evolution was documented by real-time imaging. The fs laser could generate a highly focused hole at a targeted site of the myoblast plasma membrane. The initial hole size depended on the laser dosage in terms of power and exposure duration. With the same laser power and irradiation duration, photoporation invoked bigger holes in the oxidative groups than in the control. Myoblasts showed difficulty in repairing holes with initial size beyond certain threshold. Within the threshold, holes could apparently be resealed within 100s under the normal condition; while in oxidative condition, the resealing process could take 100-300s. The hole-resealing capacity of myoblasts was compromised under oxidative stress particularly when the oxidative exposure was chronic. It is interesting to note that brief exposure to oxidative stress apparently could promote resealing in myoblasts after photoporation.

Changes in permeability of the plasma membrane of myoblasts to fluorescent dyes with different molecular masses under sustained uniaxial stretching

Deep tissue injury (DTI) is a serious pressure ulcer which onsets in skeletal muscle tissues adjacent to weight-bearing bony prominences. Recent literature points at sustained large deformations in muscle tissue, which translate to static stretching of the plasma membrane (PM) at the cell-scale, as the primary cause of accumulated cell death in DTI. It has been specifically suggested that prolonged exposure to large tensional PM strains interferes with normal cellular homeostasis, primarily by affecting transport through the PM which could become more permeable when stretched. In this context, using confocal imaging and fluorescence-activated cell sorter (FACS), we visualized and quantified here the uptake of fluorescent Dextran dye by myoblasts that were statically stretched uniaxially, up to physiological strains of 3%, 6% and 9%, using two different molecular masses for the Dextran (4kDa and 20kDa). The confocal and FACS studies provided consistent evidence that the permeability of the PM increased at large static deformations. Furthermore, the FACS data indicated that the kinetics of the PM permeability very likely depends on the size of the biomolecular marker. Both results were consistent with reports published in the neurotrauma literature on the kinetics of uptake of fluorescent biomolecules by dynamically stretched neurons; hence there are some analogues in the biomechanical pathways of cellular-level injury between DTI and impact insults. The present work provides additional empirical support to the theory of cell-scale deformation-diffusion damage in the etiology of DTI, and may lead to better understanding of time courses for onset of cellular damage in DTI, by exploring mass transport processes across the PM of the involved cells.

Relationship Between Strain Levels and Permeability of the Plasma Membrane in Statically Stretched Myoblasts

Deep tissue injury (DTI) is a life-threatening type of pressure ulcer which initiates subdermally with muscle necrosis at weight-bearing anatomical locations, where localized elevated tissue strains exist. Though it has been suggested that excessive sustained soft tissue strains might compromise cell viability, which then initiates the DTI, there is no experimental evidence to describe how specifically such a process might take place. Here, we experimentally test the hypothesis that macroscopic tissue deformations translated to cell-level deformations and in particular, to localized tensile strains in the plasma membrane (PM) of cells, increase the permeability of the PM which could disrupt vital transport processes. In order to determine whether PM permeability changes can occur due to static stretching of cells we measured the uptake of fluorescein isothiocyanate (FITC)-labeled Dextran (molecular weight = 4 kDa) by deformed vs. undeformed myoblasts, using a fluorescence-activated cell sorting (FACS) method. These PM permeability changes were then correlated with tensile strains in the PM which correspond to the levels of substrate tensile strain (STS) that were applied in the experiments. The PM strains were evaluated by means of confocal-microscopy-based cell-specific finite element (FE) modeling. The FACS studies demonstrated a statistically significant rise in the uptake of the FITC-labeled Dextran with increasing STS levels in the STS ≤ 12% domain, which thereby indicates a rise in the permeability of the PM of the myoblasts with the extent of the applied cellular deformation. The cell-specific FE modeling simulating the experiments further demonstrated that applying average PM tensile strains which exceed 3%, or, applying peak PM tensile strains over 9%, substantially increases the permeability of the PM of myoblasts to the Dextran. Moreover, the permeability of the PM grew rapidly with any further increase in PM strains, though there were no significant changes in the uptake above average and peak PM tensile strain values of 9 and 26%, respectively. These results provide an experimental basis for studying the theory that cell-level deformation-diffusion relationships may be involved in determining the tolerance of soft tissues to sustained mechanical loading, as relevant to the etiology of DTI.

The C-terminal region of a Lys49 myotoxin mediates Ca 2+ influx in C2C12 myotubes

Myotoxins are abundant components of snake venoms, being a significant public health problem worldwide. Among them, Lys49 phospholipase A 2 homologue myotoxins cause extensive necrosis in skeletal muscle tissue. Their mechanisms of action are still poorly understood, but there is evidence that the C-terminal region is involved in membrane damage leading to myotoxicity. To investigate the effect of the C-terminal peptide 115–129 of Agkistrodon contortrix laticinctus myotoxin on the plasma membrane of myoblasts and myotubes, the entry of Ca 2+ was monitored by fluorescence imaging, and the ensuing cytotoxicity was determined. The myotoxin synthetic peptide was found to act selectively on myotubes, which were rapidly overloaded with Ca 2+ with ensuing necrosis. The profile of intracellular Ca 2+ increase induced by the C-terminal peptide, but not by its scrambled version control, reproduces the second, prominent wave of the biphasic response documented in previous studies using whole Lys49 myotoxins. These observations provide relevant insights into the mechanism of action of this family of toxins, with implications for the understanding of their structure–function relationships.

Immunocytochemistry of M‐cadherin in mature and regenerating rat muscle

Cadherins are transmembrane proteins mediating calcium-dependent cell-cell adhesion in a cell type-specific manner by means of homophilic binding. M(muscle)-cadherin is a recently detected member of the cadherin family. We have investigated the localization of M-cadherin in normal and aneurally regenerating skeletal muscle of rat by means of pre-embedding immunocytochemistry. The antibody was directed against the extra-cellular domain of M-cadherin. Myoblasts and myotubes in regenerating muscles tended to be arranged in clusters enclosed by a common basal lamina. Satellite cells of mature muscle fibers were attached to the underlying fiber without separating basal lamina. Reactivity for M-cadherin was restricted to the plasma membranes of myoblasts and satellite cells, and was most intense at the membrane areas facing adjacent myotubes or myofibers. Myoblasts interposed between two myotubes were stained on the entire surface. The adjacent plasma membrane of the otherwise negative myotube or muscle fiber, was stained as well, and extracellular reaction product was in the gap between the cells. The cellular localization of M-cadherin may indicate that M-cadherin is involved in calcium-dependent adhesion between satellite cells and muscle fibers or, by means of interposed myoblasts, between the clustered myotubes in a regenerating muscle.

Expression and cellular localization of glucose transporters (GLUT1, GLUT3, GLUT4) during differentiation of myogenic cells isolated from rat fœtuses

ABSTRACT Skeletal muscle regeneration is mediated by the proliferation of myoblasts from stem cells located beneath the basal lamina of myofibres, the muscle satellite cells. They are functionally indistinguishable from embryonic myoblasts. The myogenic process includes the fusion of myoblasts into multinucleated myotubes, the biosynthesis of proteins specific for skeletal muscle and proteins that regulates glucose metabolism, the glucose transporters. We find that three isoforms of glucose transporter are expressed during fœtal myoblast differentiation: GLUT1, GLUT3 and GLUT4; their relative expression being dependent upon the stage of differentiation of the cells. GLUT1 mRNA and protein were abundant only in myoblasts from 19-day-old rat fœtuses or from adult muscles. GLUT3 mRNA and protein, detectable in both cell types, increased markedly during cell fusion, but decreased in contracting myotubes. GLUT4 mRNA and protein were not expressed in myoblasts. They appeared only in spontaneously contracting myotubes cultured on an extracellular matrix. Insulin or IGF-I had no effect on the expression of the three glucose transporter isoforms, even in the absence of glucose. The rate of glucose transport, assessed using 2-[3H]deoxyglu-cose, was 2-fold higher in myotubes than in myoblasts. Glucose deprivation increased the basal rate of glucose transport by 2-fold in myoblasts, and 4-fold in myotubes. The cellular localization of the glucose transporters was directly examined by immunofluorescence staining. GLUT1 was located on the plasma membrane of myoblasts and myotubes. GLUT3 was located intracellularly in myoblasts and appeared also on the plasma membrane in myotubes. Insulin or IGF-I were unable to target GLUT3 to the plasma membrane. GLUT4, the insulin-regulatable glucose transporter isoform, appeared only in contracting myotubes in small intracellular vesicles. It was translocated to the plasma membrane after a short exposure to insulin, as it is in skeletal muscle in vivo. These results show that there is a switch in glucose transporter isoform expression during myogenic differentiation, dependent upon the energy required by the different stages of the process. GLUT3 seemed to play a role during cell fusion, and could be a marker for the muscle’s ability to regenerate.

Differential effect of a new thyromimetic on triiodothyronine transport into myoblasts and hepatoma and neuroblastoma cells

3,5-Dibromo-3′-pyridazinone- l-thyronine (L-94901), a member of a novel class of thyromimetics, reduces cholesterol plasma levels with little effect on cardiac function in rats. Because receptor binding of L-94901 in isolated heart and liver nuclei is similar but binding in liver nuclei in vivo was 50-fold higher than in cardiac nuclei, we studied its effect on triiodothyronine (T 3) transport across the plasma membrane of myoblasts, hepatoma cells and neuroblasts. Previously, we had demonstrated saturable, stereospecific and energy dependent transport of T 3 into the three cell lines. After equilibrium of intact cells with hormone, nuclear binding of T 3 was decreased by L-94901 in all three cell lines. While whole cell uptake and whole cell binding of T 3 was only slightly affected by L-94901, kinetic analysis of the initial rate of uptake showed uncompetitive or noncompetitive inhibition and a differential decrease in V max. Furthermore, the K i for the liver and brain derived cells was 10-fold lower than for the muscle derived cells. This effect on the plasma membrane transport of T 3 may explain the differential effect reported in the intact animal.

Colocalization of N-CAM and N-cadherin in avian skeletal myoblasts

The cell-cell adhesion molecules, N-CAM and N-cadherin, have been shown previously to mediate myoblast interaction during cell fusion accompanying skeletal myogenesis. To study the localization of both molecules in fusion-competent myoblasts, we used antigen-specific primary antibodies and a double-labeling preembedding immuno-electron microscopy technique. Ultrastructural observations and quantitative analysis of the results reveal that N-CAM and N-cadherin frequently colocalize in clusters on the myoblast plasma membrane. The data provide morphological evidence that the two adhesion glycoproteins cooperate in mediating myoblast interaction during myoblast fusion.

The cesium-induced delay in myoblast membrane fusion is accompanied by changes in isolated membrane lipids

We have recently demonstrated that cesium ions delay the sharp decrease in both membrane conductivity and membrane permittivity of chick embryo myoblasts seen at fusion (Santini, M.T., Bonincontro, A., Cametti, C. and Indovina, P.L. (1988) Biochim. Biophys. Acta 945, 56–64). Analysis of the conductivity dispersion data (obtained in the radiowave frequency range) indicated that cesium delays fusion by about 30 h. We suggested that cesium is affecting both active ionic transport by blocking potassium channels as well as interfering with membrane lipid and/or protein charges. In the present study, we have investigated both the possible role of membrane lipids in myoblast fusion and the possible effects of cesium on these lipids. Our data indicate that lipid changes do occur in the isolated myoblast plasma membrane of controls during myogenic differentiation especially prior to fusion and that in cesium cultures these variations do not occur. These variations are in accordance with current membrane fusion theory. Specifically, there is a decrease in bilayer-stabilizing lipids (phosphatidylcholine) and an increase in bilayer-destabilizing ones (phosphatidylethanolamine and phosphatidic acid) and cholesterol during the fusion process. In addition, although slight, during fusion there appears to be a decrease in phosphatidylinositol which is believed to be involved in the inositol phosphate second messenger system. In cesium cultures, in which fusion is greatly delayed, the same lipid changes do not take place and those that are observed seem to reflect the fusion delay.

Intracellular transport of 3,5,3'-triiodo-L-thyronine in rat skeletal myoblasts.

Since in skeletal muscle circulating L-T3 is the only source for the hormone bound to nuclei, we investigated the intracellular and intranuclear transport of L-T3 in L6E9 rat skeletal muscle cells. The characteristics of this process were assessed by analyzing the nuclear bound L-T3 as a marker of the internalized hormone and by determining the initial rate of L-T3 uptake. [125I]L-T3 cellular uptake at 37 C reached a plateau at 2 h when the nuclear uptake, after an initial lag phase, was still increasing and represented 4.7% of the cellular uptake. Incubation at 4 C caused [125I]L-T3 cellular uptake to decrease by 77% and nuclear uptake to be abolished. A similar effect on [125I]L-T3 nuclear uptake was obtained after myoblasts were incubated at 37 C with a 1000-fold excess of unlabeled L-T3. The addition of various inhibitors of ATP production, cytoskeleton integrity, endocytosis, and Na+, K+-ATPase that did not interfere with [125I]L-T3 binding to the cell surface or to isolated nuclei caused a dose-dependent reduction of both extranuclear and nuclear uptake, ranging from 34-85%. Scatchard analysis revealed the presence on the myoblast surface of L-T3 high affinity (Ka = 1.6 X 10(9) M-1) and low affinity (Ka = 5.4 X 10(6) M-1) binding sites; other iodothyronines exhibited lower affinity for both sites. Kinetic analysis of L-T3 transport after 60-sec incubation at 23 C defined a process with a Km of 17 +/- 5.6 nM and a maximum velocity of 83 +/- 35 pmol/mg DNA. These results indicate the existence in rat myoblasts of a temperature-dependent, energy-requiring, saturable, and stereospecific L-T3 uptake mechanism, probably mediated through an endocytotic pathway, located on the myoblast plasma membrane, that may regulate L-T3 action in skeletal muscle.

Myoblast fusion is regulated by a prostanoid of the one series independently of a rise in cyclic AMP.

The role of prostanoids in the regulation of chick myoblast differentiation has been investigated. At 3 X 10(-6) M, indomethacin and chloroquine specifically inhibit cell fusion. They do not affect cell proliferation, alignment, or the expression of two muscle-specific proteins, namely, the acetylcholine receptor and the muscle-specific form of creatine phosphokinase. The results demonstrate that it is indomethacin's activity as an inhibitor of prostaglandin synthesis at the cyclooxygenase step that causes the block of cell fusion, whereas chloroquine probably acts at the earlier step of phospholipase A. Prostaglandin E1 (PGE1), but not prostaglandin E2 (PGE2), rapidly reverses the inhibition of fusion imposed by indomethacin or chloroquine. The dose response of the myoblasts to PGE1 is a bell-shaped curve with a 100% reversal of fusion at approximately 10(-9) M. Eicosatrienoate and linoleate reverse the inhibition of fusion with similar kinetics, whereas arachidonate is completely ineffective. The ability of PGE1 and eicosatrienoate but not PGE2 and arachidonate to restore fusion to control levels implies that fusion is specifically regulated by a prostanoid of the one series. The reversal of the fusion-block by linoleate further suggests that this fatty acid provides the necessary source of eicosatrienoate in the myoblast plasma membrane. At 10(-8) M and above, PGE1 and PGE2 stimulate adenylate cyclase and depress control fusion as does 10(-5) M isoproterenol. The beta-adrenergic blocker propranolol abolishes both isoproterenol's inhibition of myoblast fusion and its activation of adenylate cyclase. The similar depressions imposed on cell fusion by 10(-8)-10(-6) M prostanoid and 10(-5) M isoproterenol suggest that in both cases the depressive effects are mediated by cyclic AMP. It is concluded that a prostanoid of the one series regulates fusion by a cyclic AMP-independent mechanisms.

Histopathologic and ultrastructural study of tumors induced by murine sarcoma virus (msv) (author's transl)

Various growth phases of Moloney murine sarcoma virus (M-MSV) induced tumors in suckling and young adult BALB/c mice have been studied by light and electron microscopy. In the early phase (3-6 days following M-MSV), observations at the injection site of the thigh muscles consisted of endo- and perimysial edema "activated" muscle satellite, cells, endothelial cells and fibroblasts, scattered type C virus particles within the muscle fibers, muscle fibers and endomysial cells undergoing necrosis and macrophage and granulocyte infiltration. During the overt tumor phase (6-12 days following M-MSV), observation of neoplastic tissue disclosed proliferation of several cell type (endothelial, periosteal, fibroblasts, etc.), poorly differentiated myoblasts along with atypical rhabdomyoblast-like cells and sarcolytes, type C virus budding from muscle fiber and myoblast plasma membrane, and intense degenerative and regenerative changes in the muscle fibers together with more profuse granulocyte infiltration. The regressive phase (13-21 days following M-MSV) presented reduced cellularity of the neoplastic tissue, a decrease in blast cells, diminishing granulocyte infiltration with contemporaneous appearance of prominent lymphocyte foci and gradual disappearance of virus particles. Although many cell types of mesenchymal origin proliferate following M-MSV infection, the above morphological findings indicate that striated muscle is a preferential site for virus replication and transformation. Furthermore, the peculiar virus cell relationships leading to cell lysis and continuous recruitment of newly infected cells have been widely documented. In the light of these findings it is suggested that, besides the host immune control of virus spread and tumor cell multiplication, the non clonal growth pattern of M-MSV induced tumors is a crucial factor in determining the spontaneous regression which occurs with high frequency in this experimental system.