Wnt7a induces satellite cell expansion, myofiber hyperplasia and hypertrophy in rat craniofacial muscle

Abstract

Craniofacial muscles drive critical functions in the head, including speech, feeding and expression. Compared with their counterparts in trunk and limbs, craniofacial muscles are of distinct embryonic origins, which might consequently lead to different growth patterns and regenerative potential. In this study, rat levator veli palatini muscle and masseter muscle were compared with tibialis anterior muscle in their response to exogenous Wnt7a stimulus, which has been proved effective in promoting muscle regeneration in the limbs. Histological, cellular and molecular analyses were performed both under basal condition and after a single dose injection of recombinant human Wnt7a. Under basal condition, levator veli palatini muscle demonstrated considerably more satellite cells than the others. After Wnt7a administration, regeneration-related activities, including satellite cell expansion, myofiber hyperplasia and hypertrophy were generally observed in all three muscles, but with obvious differences in the extent. The composition of fast/slow myofibers underwent substantial alterations, and the pattern varied among the three muscles. Location-specific alterations in the expression level of core components in planar cell polarity pathway, Akt/mTOR pathway and myostatin pathway were also observed. In conclusion, both craniofacial and limb muscles could be effectively expanded by exogenous Wnt7a stimulus, but muscle-to-muscle variations in response patterns existed.

m6A and miRNA jointly regulate the development of breast muscles in duck embryonic stages

“…In particular, Wnt7a is implicated in playing roles in homeostasis maintenance of skeletal muscle, and Wnt7a treatment may be potentially applied in skeletal muscle dystrophy ( 46 ). In addition, Wnt7a induces satellite cell expansion, myofiber hyperplasia, and hypertrophy in rat craniofacial muscle ( 47 ). Therefore, we selected Wnt7a for visualization analysis.…”

Age-dependent variations in the expression of myosin isoforms and myogenic factors during the involution of the proximal sesamoidean ligament of sheep

“…Furthermore, peculiar fluctuations of the expression of genes involved in the Wnt signalling have been observed. Different research groups have demonstrated that alterations of the Wnt signalling pathway may lead to a modification of the fibre type composition (Strochlic et al, 2012;von Maltzahn et al, 2012;Cheng et al, 2018) but also to a decrease of myogenesis and muscle reparation (Cisternas et al, 2014a). As a matter of fact, Wnt signalling has a key role in skeletal muscle dynamics, especially during myogenesis (Cisternas et al, 2014b).…”

Role of noncanonical Wnt ligands and Ror‐family receptor tyrosine kinases in the development, regeneration, and diseases of the musculoskeletal system

“…Interestingly, it has also been reported that Wnt7a‐Fzd7 signaling is involved in skeletal muscle hypertrophy by activating Akt/mTOR signaling 62 . Wnt7a has also been shown to play an important role in expansion of SCs and myofiber hypertrophy in craniofacial muscle in addition to limb skeletal muscle 63 . On the other hand, Wnt4, induced by Foxc2, regulates differentiation of SCs via activation of RhoA 64 .…”

“…62 Wnt7a has also been shown to play an important role in expansion of SCs and myofiber hypertrophy in craniofacial muscle in addition to limb skeletal muscle. 63 On the other hand, Wnt4, induced by Foxc2, regulates differentiation of SCs via activation of RhoA. 64 Furthermore, hypoxia-inducible factor 1α (HIF1α) induces myogenic differentiation of C2C12 cells through noncanonical Wnt signaling by inducing expression of Wnt4, Wnt7a and Wnt9a under hypoxic conditions.…”