Muscle Cell News Volume 5.08 | Mar 09 2020

TOP STORY

Smooth Muscle Differentiation Is Essential for Airway Size, Tracheal Cartilage Segmentation, but Dispensable for Epithelial Branching

Researchers found that Myocardin mutants showed normal branching, despite the absence of peristalsis. In contrast, tracheal cartilage, vasculature, and neural innervation patterns were all disrupted. [Dev Cell] Full Article | Graphical Abstract

(Ranked by impact factor of the journal)

CARDIAC MUSCLE CELLS

Angiotensin-(1-9) Prevents Cardiomyocyte Hypertrophy by Controlling Mitochondrial Dynamics via miR-129-3p/PKIA Pathway

Angiotensin-(1-9) induced mitochondrial fusion through DRP1 phosphorylation, and blocked mitochondrial fission and intracellular calcium dysregulation in a model of norepinephrine-induced cardiomyocyte hypertrophy. [Cell Death Differ] Abstract

A Novel Fluorescent Reporter System Identifies Laminin-511/521 as Potent Regulators of Cardiomyocyte Maturation

Myom2-RFP⁺ pluripotent stem cell-derived cardiomyocytes exhibited more mature phenotypes than RFP^– cells in morphology, function and transcriptionally, conductive to sarcomere shortening assays. [Sci Rep] Full Article

Inhibition of Profibrotic Signalling Enhances the 5-Azacytidine-Induced Reprogramming of Fibroblasts Into Cardiomyocytes

Scientists treated cardiac fibroblasts with 5-aza for 24 hours and added TGF-β inhibitor A83-01 for two weeks in vitro to investigate the effect of inhibiting fibrosis on myocardial differentiation. [Int J Biochem Cell Biol] Abstract

SKELETAL MUSCLE CELLS

Micro/Nano-Hierarchical Scaffold Fabricated Using a Cell Electrospinning/3D Printing Process for Co-Culturing Myoblasts and HUVECs to Induce Myoblast Alignment and Differentiation

The myoblasts, which were seeded on a vascularized structure (human umbilical vein endothelial cells-laden fibers), were co-cultured to facilitate myoblast regeneration. [Acta Biomater] Abstract | Graphical Abstract

A Cdh1-FoxM1-Apc Axis Controls Muscle Development and Regeneration

Forkhead box M1 (FoxM1) functioned as a direct transcription activator of adenomatous polyposis coli, preventing hyperactivation of wnt/β-catenin signaling during muscle regeneration. [Cell Death Dis] Full Article

Combined Effect of Midazolam and Bone Morphogenetic Protein-2 for Differentiation Induction from C2C12 Myoblast Cells to Osteoblasts

An immortalized mouse myoblast cell line was cultured in a combination of bone morphogenetic protein-2 and midazolam. The differentiation and signal transduction of C2C12 cells into osteoblasts were investigated at biological, immunohistochemical, and genetic cell levels. [Pharmaceutics] Abstract | Download Full Article

Glutamine-Stimulated In Vitro Hypertrophy Is Preserved in Muscle Cells from Older Women

An in vitro model of human primary myogenic cells explored the intrinsic behavior of muscle cells, while excluding potential influences of external factors. [Mech Ageing Dev] Abstract

Screening of By-Products From the Food Industry As Growth Promoting Agents in Serum-Free Media for Skeletal Muscle Cell Culture

Investigators explored if food-grade by-product materials could be used as growth promoting agents in skeletal muscle cell culture to develop a tailor-made serum free media. [Food Funct] Abstract

Tumor Necrosis Factor Alpha Mediates Neuromuscular Synapse Elimination

Researchers showed that tumor necrosis factor-α expressed in postsynaptic muscle cells played an important role in presynaptic axonal elimination at the neuromuscular junction. [Cell Discov] Full Article

SMOOTH MUSCLE CELLS

SGK1 Mediates the Hypotonic Protective Effect Against H₂O₂-Induced Apoptosis of Rat Basilar Artery Smooth Muscle Cells by Inhibiting the FOXO3a/Bim Signaling Pathway

Scientists investigated whether serum- and glucocorticoid-inducible kinease-1 (SGK1) was involved in the protective effect of volume-regulated Cl^– channels in basilar artery smooth muscle cells. [Acta Pharmacol Sin] Abstract

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The Effects of Endurance Exercise on the Heart: Panacea or Poison?

In the longer term, some endurance athletes have an increased prevalence of coronary artery disease, myocardial fibrosis and arrhythmias. The inherent association between these ‘maladaptations’ and sudden cardiac death in the general population raises the question of whether endurance exercise could be detrimental for some individuals. [Nat Rev Cardiol] Abstract

Muscle Development: A View From Adult Myogenesis in Drosophila

The authors discuss what they know about the development of adult muscles, from the specification and diversification of the adult muscle precursors to their final differentiation. [Semin Cell Dev Biol] Abstract

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

AVROBIO Receives Orphan Drug Designation from US FDA for AVR-RD-04 for Cystinosis

AVROBIO, Inc. announced that the FDA has granted orphan drug designation to the company’s investigational gene therapy, AVR-RD-04, for the treatment of cystinosis, a rare, progressive disease marked by the accumulation of cystine in cellular organelles known as lysosomes, causing debilitating symptoms including muscle wasting. [AVROBIO, Inc.] Press Release

NanoSurface Biomedical Awarded $1.9M in Funding from NIH

NanoSurface Biomedical received $1.9 million in new funding from the National Institutes of Health (NIH) to support accelerated development of NanoSurface’s innovative human induced pluripotent stem cell (iPSC)-based platforms for drug discovery and safety screening. NanoSurface’s proprietary technology advances the maturation of human iPSC-derived cardiac tissues in vitro to better predict the effect of candidate drugs in humans. [NanoSurface Biomedical] Press Release

Ross Prize Awarded to Cold Spring Harbor Laboratory Professor

The Feinstein Institutes for Medical Research has selected Adrian R. Krainer, PhD, St. Giles Foundation Professor at Cold Spring Harbor Laboratory, as the eighth awardee of the Ross Prize in Molecular Medicine. [The Feinstein Institutes for Medical Research] Press Release

New Trump Rules Aim to Fuel Sharing of Patient Health Records by Smartphone

President Trump’s top health care aides said they will finalize federal rules requiring health providers and insurers to make health records available to patients in an easily accessible electronic format, a policy shift aimed at fueling broader efforts to use patient data to develop new software tools and services. [STAT News] Editorial

Trump Administration Expands Reach of EPA Secret Science Proposal

The US Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) released a controversial proposal to limit the scientific research used in the federal rule-making process. The draft “Strengthening Transparency in Regulatory Science” is part of the agency’s persistent effort to rework the foundation on which public health and environmental rules are crafted. [SienceInsider] Editorial

NEW New Directions in Biology and Disease of Skeletal Muscle Conference 2020
July 6-9, 2020
New York, New York, United States

Visit our events page to see a complete list of events in the community.

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

Postdoctoral Fellow – Disuse Atrophy (University of Illinois)

Postdoctoral Researcher – Soft Tissue Biology (Mayo Clinic)

Postdoctoral Fellow – Neuromuscular Disease (Johns Hopkins Medicine)

Postdoctoral Fellow – Vascular Biology (Augusta University)

Postdoctoral Position – Vascular Smooth Muscle and Endothelial Cell Ion Channels (University of Tennessee Health Science Center)

Academic Clinical Lecturer – Clinical Pharmacology and Therapeutics Cardiology (University of Bristol)

Postdoctoral Position – Molecular Skeletal Muscle Cell Signaling (University of Copenhagen)

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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