Skeletal Muscle Plasticity In Health And Disease

The ability of striated muscle tissue to adapt to changes in activity or in working conditions is extremely high. In some ways it is comparable to the ability of the brain to learn. The interest in muscle adaptation is increasing in relation to the idea that physical fitness helps in the prevention of disease, may counteract the loss of physical performance and generally improves wellbeing. Plasticity is the word used since the late 1970’s to indicate collectively all the processes and mechanisms which form the background of muscle adaptation. This book aims to provide a systematic updating of the available knowledge on molecular and cellular mechanisms, as well as on changes at whole muscle level. The book means to be a guide and a help for people who enter the field as PhD or medical students, but is also a tool for refreshing and updating knowledge for people already active in the field in basic sciences as well as in applied disciplines such as neurology, sports science and rehabilitation.

Biological systems have acquired efficient adaptive strategies to cope with physiological challenges and to maximize biochemical processes under imposed constraints. All living organisms possess the inherent ability to change the structural and functional properties of their tissues in accordance to several health or disease-related conditions. Plasticity is the word used since the late 1970 s to designate all the processes and mechanisms behind adaptation. Muscle plasticity, in particular, is an unequivocal example of this biological feature. In fact, muscle is a very specialized tissue with an amazingly high malleability to adapt to distinct functional and metabolic demands by altering key molecular pathways. Moreover, as proposed in this book, muscle plasticity could also be extended to the ability of skeletal muscle to interact with other organs and mediate some of the stimuli-induced changes in other organs. Muscle cells are able to detect mechanical, metabolic, neuronal and hormonal signals which are transduced over multiple pathways to the muscle genome. Examples of muscle plasticity abound, from exercise adaptations, to the effects of environmental stressors, to the aging process, and to an assortment of disease-related conditions. Therefore, muscle plasticity forms a major basis for biological adaptation to physiological and pathophysiological conditions and thus, as we will become aware from the several chapters presented in this book, it can have both beneficial and maladaptive consequences. The goal of this multi-author book is to examine the current understanding regarding some physiological and biochemical events known to be involved in muscle adaptive response to altered health or disease-related circumstances. Notwithstanding the importance of other key organelles in cellular metabolism and function, muscle stimuli-targeting alterations in mitochondrial structure, biochemistry and function assume particular relevance throughout some chapters of this book. Issues related to muscle remodelling by physical exercise/contractile activity including molecular mechanisms of altered muscle use and hypertrophy, muscle disuse, aging processes, conditions of caloric restriction, hypoxia, as well as by some pathophysiological states such as obesity, cachexia, insulin resistance, diabetes mellitus, ischemia and ischemia-reperfusion make the scientific agenda of this book. As free radicals are known as powerful signalling molecules in cellular metabolism, a special emphasis on muscle redox-based modulation is noticeable throughout this book. However, even though this book covers a wide range of knowledge, it does not examine all aspects of physiology and biochemistry of muscle plasticity. Among many others, these would include several issues, such as inflammation, atrophy, satellite cell function in regeneration, regulation of excitation-contraction coupling, muscle architecture, as well as the response of muscle to distinct pharmacological agents. Topics like these are approached in other expertise devoted reviews. We are delighted to be involved in this project and gratefully acknowledged to the outstanding contribution of the authors. We hope that this book will be of interest to a wide basic and applied biomedical science audience, from physiologists to biochemists, especially those that embrace with excitement the wonders of muscle plasticity. Lastly, we also hope that the fascinating scientific platform of muscle plasticity would foster a plasticity of mind in developing new hypotheses and approaching challenges.

It is essential for our quality of life to have healthy muscles. Tragically, the loss of even a single protein can have dramatic effects on muscle functioning and quality of life. This book is about skeletal muscles, their physiological complexity and molecular functioning in health and disease. The range of topics varies from the fascinating events at the level of the cross-bridges, the aging process of skeletal muscles, ischemia-reperfusion, inflammatory myopathies and mitochondrial function, muscular dystrophy and the regulation of skeletal muscle mass in health and disease. This book is written by internationally acclaimed researchers and expert research groups and provides state of the art understanding of the plasticity of skeletal muscle, information that is vital for health professionals who deal with diverse chronic disease conditions.

This book discusses recent advances and various topics in plasticity of skeletal muscle from the perspectives of morphology, biological function, and clinical applications. Skeletal muscle is a highly plastic organ to adapt to environmental various demands, appears to endocrine various myokines, which flow into blood to protect the recognizing function of brain and inhibit the appearance of several cancer tumorigenesis. The book deals with current stem-cell based, pharmacological, and nutritional therapies for muscle wasting (sarcopenia, cachexia, and muscular dystrophy). It also explains the roles of biological mediators such as PGC-1, transient receptor potential cation channels (TRPC), and AMPK in modulating muscle function. The functional roles of ubiquitin-proteasome system, autophagy-dependent signaling in muscle homeostasis, ribosome biogenesis, and redox regulation of mechanotransduction to modulate skeletal muscle mass are also covered. It is an essential resource for physicians, researchers, post-docs as well as graduate students in the field of sports science including rehabilitation therapy, exercise physiology, exercise biochemistry, and molecular biology dealing with skeletal muscle.

An understanding of muscle structure and function, and its control in health and failure in disease is a basis for a full understanding of human physiology. This book combines basic but up-to-date information about the structure, biochemistry and physiology of muscle with discussions on the use of muscle in everyday life, in sport and in disease.

It is essential for our quality of life to have healthy muscles. Tragically, the loss of even a single protein can have dramatic effects on muscle functioning and quality of life. This book is about skeletal muscles, their physiological complexity and molecular functioning in health and disease. The range of topics varies from the fascinating events at the level of the cross-bridges, the aging process of skeletal muscles, ischemia-reperfusion, inflammatory myopathies and mitochondrial function, muscular dystrophy and the regulation of skeletal muscle mass in health and disease. This book is written by internationally acclaimed researchers and expert research groups and provides state of the art understanding of the plasticity of skeletal muscle, information that is vital for health professionals who deal with diverse chronic disease conditions.

In its Second Edition, this text addresses basic and applied physiological properties of skeletal muscle in the context of the physiological effects from clinical treatment. Many concepts are expanded and recent studies on human muscle have been added. This new edition also includes more clinically relevant cases and stories. A two-page full color insert of muscle sections is provided to ensure integral understanding of the concepts presented in the text. Anyone interested in human movement analysis and the understanding of generation and control from the musculoskeletal and neuromuscular systems in implementing movement will find this a valuable resource.

Skeletal muscle is the most abudant tissue of the human body, making up to 40 to 50% of the human body mass. While the importance of optimal muscle function is well recognized in the athletic field, its significance for general health is often underappreciated. In fact, the evidence that muscle mass, strength and metabolism are essential for our overall health is overwhelming. As the largest protein reservoir in the human body, muscles are essential in the acute response to critical illness such as sepsis, advanced cancer, and traumatic injury. Loss of skeletal muscle mass has also been associated with weakness, fatigue, insulin resistance, falls, fractures, frailty, disability, several chronic diseases and death. As a consequence, maintaining skeletal muscle mass, strength and metabolism throughout the lifespan is critical to the maintenance of whole body health. Mitochondria are fascinating organelles regulating many critical cellular processes for skeletal muscle physiology, including for instance energy supply, reactive oxygen species production, calcium homeostasis and the regulation of apoptosis. It is therefore not surprising that mitochondrial dysfunction has been implicated in a large number of adverse events/conditions and pathologies affecting skeletal muscle health. While the importance of normal mitochondrial function is well recognized for muscle physiology, there are important aspects of mitochondrial biology that are still poorly understood. These include mitochondrial dynamics (fusion and fission processes), morphology and processes involved in mitochondrial quality control (mitophagy). Defining the mechanisms regulating these different aspects of mitochondrial biology, their importance for muscle physiology, as well as the interrelations will be critical for expanding understanding of the role played by mitochondria in skeletal muscle physiology and health. The present research topic provides readers with novel experimental approaches, knowledge, hypotheses and findings related to all aspects of mitochondrial biology in healthy and diseased muscle cells.