Muscle Cell News Volume 5.12 | Apr 06 2020

TOP STORY

Smooth Muscle Cell Reprogramming in Aortic Aneurysms

Scientists investigated the interactions between different factors in aortic aneurysm development and identified a key role for smooth muscle cell reprogramming into a mesenchymal stem cell-like state. [Cell Stem Cell] Abstract | Graphical Abstract

(Ranked by impact factor of the journal)

CARDIAC MUSCLE CELLS

Long Non-Coding RNA ROR Sponges miR-138 to Aggravate Hypoxia/Reoxygenation-Induced Cardiomyocyte Apoptosis via Upregulating Mst1

H9C2 cells were used to establish hypoxia/reoxygenation injury model. The expression levels of lncRNA ROR and miR-138 were modified by transfection with the miR-138 mimics or lncRNA ROR overexpression plasmid. [Exp Mol Pathol] Abstract

SKELETAL MUSCLE CELLS

Myogenesis Control by SIX Transcriptional Complexes

Six genes were expressed throughout muscle development, in embryonic and adult proliferating myogenic stem cells and in fetal and adult post-mitotic myofibers, where SIX proteins regulated the expression of various categories of genes. [Semin Cell Dev Biol] Abstract

In Vivo Analysis of γH2AX⁺ Cells in Skeletal Muscle from Aged and Obese Humans

The authors identified senescent cells in frozen human skeletal muscle biopsies using markers to determine the effects of age and obesity on senescent cell burden; however, they were only able to assess the abundance of DNA-damaged nuclei using γH2AX immunohistochemistry. [FASEB J] Full Article

Comprehensive Analysis of Skeletal Muscle- and Bone-Derived Mesenchymal Stem/Stromal Cells in Patients with Osteoarthritis and Femoral Neck Fracture

Freshly isolated cells from muscle from patients with osteoarthritis showed a lower proportion of CD45/CD19/CD14/CD34-negative cells compared to patients with osteoporosis and healthy donors. [Stem Cell Res Ther] Abstract

Blood Flow-Restricted Resistance Exercise Alters the Surface Profile, miRNA Cargo and Functional Impact of Circulating Extracellular Vesicles

Target prediction and functional enrichment analysis of the miRNAs revealed several target genes that were associated to biological pathways involved in skeletal muscle protein turnover. Extracellular vesicles from BFRE plasma increased the proliferation of muscle precursor cells. [Sci Rep] Full Article

Targeting PKCθ Promotes Satellite Cell Self-Renewal

The authors showed that PKCθ was expressed in satellite cells (SC), and its active form was localized to the chromosomes, centrosomes, and midbody during mitosis. Lack of PKCθ promoted SC symmetric self-renewal division by regulating Pard3 polarity protein localization, without affecting the overall proliferation rate. [Int J Mol Sci] Full Article

Creation and Characterization of an Immortalized Canine Myoblast Cell Line: Myok9

The expression of muscle-related genes was determined to assess myogenic origin. Myok9 cells expressed dystrophin and other muscle-specific proteins during differentiation, as detected with mass spectrometry and western blotting. [Mamm Genome] Abstract

SMOOTH MUSCLE CELLS

The Glucocorticoid Receptor NR3C1 in Testicular Peritubular Cells is Developmentally Regulated and Linked to the Smooth Muscle-Like Cellular Phenotype

In isolated human testicular peritubular cells, activation of glucocorticoids receptor (GR) by dexamethasone caused the translocation of GR to the nucleus and stimulated expression of ACTA2 and ELN, without affecting the expression of collagens. [J Clin Med] Full Article

Induced Osteogenic Differentiation of Human Smooth Muscle Cells as a Model of Vascular Calcification

Researchers describe an in vitro model based on smooth muscle cells derived from healthy and diseased humans that allowed to comprehensively investigate vascular calcification mechanisms. [Sci Rep] Full Article

LncRNA CRNDE Affects the Proliferation and Apoptosis of Vascular Smooth Muscle Cells in Abdominal Aortic Aneurysms by Regulating the Expression of Smad3 by Bcl-3

Scientists found CRNDE was down-regulated in abdominal aortic aneurysms tissues and AngII-stimulated vascular smooth muscle cells (VSMCs). The overexpression of CRNDE promoted VSMCs proliferation and inhibited cell apoptosis. [Cell Cycle] Abstract

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Single-Cell RNA Sequencing in Cardiovascular Development, Disease and Medicine

The authors examine emerging strategies that integrate multimodal single-cell platforms, focusing on future applications in cardiovascular precision medicine that use single-cell omics approaches to characterize cell-specific responses to drugs or environmental stimuli and to develop effective patient-specific therapeutics. [Nat Rev Cardiol] Abstract

Visit our reviews page to see a complete list of reviews in the muscle cell research field.

Applied Therapeutics Announces IND and Investigator-Initiated Studies of AT-001 in Critical COVID-19 Patients

Applied Therapeutics, Inc. announced that a COVID-19 IND has been opened with the FDA for AT-001, a novel potent Aldose Reductase inhibitor in global Phase III development for Diabetic Cardiomyopathy. Multiple AT-001 investigator-initiated trials are now underway to address acute lung inflammation and cardiomyopathy in critical COVID-19 patients. [Applied Therapeutics, Inc.] Press Release

Dyne Therapeutics Announces Equity Investment from CureDuchenne Ventures to Support Pioneering Approach to Restoring Muscle Health in DMD

Dyne Therapeutics, Inc. announced an equity investment from CureDuchenne Ventures. The funding will support Dyne’s development of precision therapeutics designed to restore muscle health in people living with Duchenne muscular dystrophy (DMD). [Dyne Therapeutics, Inc.] Press Release

Safely Conducting Essential Research in the Face of COVID-19

Some scientists can’t simply stop going to their laboratories – especially not those who are overseeing clinical trials that could offer life-saving vaccines and therapies, particularly against the new coronavirus. And some research activities must continue even in the face of a shutdown. [Nature News] Editorial

NIH’s Process for Removing Reviewers Remains a Mystery, Watchdog Finds

A new report by the Office of Inspector General of National Institute of Health’s (NIH’s) parent body, the Department of Health and Human Services, documents how NIH has begun to remove reviews who breached NIH standards on research integrity. [ScienceInsider] Editorial

Saudi Arabian Universities Push to Recruit Women Faculty

In the kingdom’s mostly gender segregated education system, expanding department offerings to female students means needing to hire women professors—a scarcity in STEM fields in Saudi Arabia. [The Scientist] Editorial

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NEW Professor – Molecular Physiology (Karolinska Institutet)

NEW Postdoctoral Research Associate – Molecular Mechanisms in Heart Disease (The University of Arizona College of Medicine)

NEW Postdoctoral Fellow – NAD Metabolism in Heart Disease (Oklahoma Medical Research Foundation)

Associate Professor – Cancer Biology (University of Cincinnati)

Group Leader – Cancer Biology (Institute of Pharmacology and Structural Biology)

PhD Candidate – Muscle Research (Hannover Medical School)

Researcher – Smooth Muscle Cell Genes in Cardiovascular Disease (University of Alabama at Birmingham)

Postdoctoral Researcher – Soft Tissue Biology (Mayo Clinic)

Postdoctoral Fellow – Cardiac Tissue Engineering and Regeneration (Duke University)

Postdoctoral Research Associate – Muscle Stem Cell Biology (State University of New York)

Assistant Specialist – Cardiovascular Medicine (University of California, Davis)

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