Excitation-contraction uncoupling has been identified as a mechanism underlying skeletal muscle weakness in aging mammals (sarcopenia). The basic mechanism for excitation-contraction uncoupling is a larger number of ryanodine receptors (RyR1) uncoupled to dihydropyridine receptors (DHPRs) (Delbono, O., O'Rourke, K. S., and Ettinger, W. H. (1995) J. Membr. Biol. 148, 211-222). In the present study, we used transgenic mice overexpressing human insulin-like growth factor-1 exclusively in skeletal muscle to test the hypothesis that a high concentration of IGF-1 prevents age-related decreases in DHPR number and in muscle force. Transgenic mice express 10 -20-fold higher IGF-1 concentrations than nontransgenic mice at all ages (1-24 months). The number of DHPRs is 50 -100% higher, and the DHPR/RyR1 ratio is 40% higher in transgenic soleus (predominantly type I fiber muscles), extensor digitorum longus (predominantly type II fiber muscles), and the pool of type I and type II fiber muscles than in nontransgenic young (6 months), adult (12 months), and old (24 months) mice. Furthermore, no age-related changes in DHPRs and the DHPR/RyR1 ratio were observed in transgenic muscles. The specific single twitch and tetanic muscle force in old transgenic soleus and extensor digitorum longus muscles are 50% higher than in old nontransgenic muscles. Taken together, these results support the concept that IGF-1-dependent prevention of age-related decline in DHPR expression is associated with stronger muscle contraction in older transgenic mice.
Insulin-like growth factor (IGF-1)1 is a trophic factor required for the proliferation of myoblasts, the proliferation of myogenic differentiation, and subsequent growth and hypertrophy of myofibers (1). IGF-1 has been identified as a potent regulator of gene expression in skeletal muscle. Age-related decrease in plasma IGF-1 concentration is well established (2), which may contribute to the decrease in muscle size and strength in the elderly. In addition to effects on muscle development, IGF-1 facilitates skeletal muscle DHPR activity via tyrosine kinase-protein kinase C-dependent phosphorylation (3). Our laboratory has also shown that IGF-1 dependent DHPR modulation is impaired in aging skeletal muscles (4), which may explain, at least partially, the decline in muscle force with aging (5).Specific muscle strength declines with aging in humans and in several animal models of aging (6 -8). The impairment in sustaining the contraction tension during prolonged muscle activation seems to be a general phenomenon in aging mammals. It also becomes apparent from a series of studies on in vitro contractility that the decrease in muscle mass does not explain entirely the age-related decrease in skeletal muscle force (8, 9). Therefore, some other mechanisms are involved in age-dependent loss in muscle strength. Studies done in our laboratory in single human skeletal muscle fiber support the theory that sarcolemmal excitation-sarcoplasmic reticulum Ca 2ϩ release uncoupling (EC uncoupling) is a basic mec...