Cellular and molecular mechanisms underlying age-related skeletal muscle wasting and weakness
Top Cited Papers
- 26 February 2008
- journal article
- review article
- Published by Springer Science and Business Media LLC in Biogerontology
- Vol. 9 (4), 213-228
- https://doi.org/10.1007/s10522-008-9131-0
Abstract
Some of the most serious consequences of ageing are its effects on skeletal muscle. The term ‘sarcopenia’ describes the slow but progressive loss of muscle mass with advancing age and is characterised by a deterioration of muscle quantity and quality leading to a gradual slowing of movement and a decline in strength. The loss of muscle mass and strength is thought to be attributed to the progressive atrophy and loss of individual muscle fibres associated with the loss of motor units, and a concomitant reduction in muscle ‘quality’ due to the infiltration of fat and other non-contractile material. These age-related changes in skeletal muscle can be largely attributed to the complex interaction of factors affecting neuromuscular transmission, muscle architecture, fibre composition, excitation–contraction coupling, and metabolism. Given the magnitude of the growing public health problems associated with sarcopenia, there is considerable interest in the development and evaluation of therapeutic strategies to attenuate, prevent, or ultimately reverse age-related muscle wasting and weakness. The aim is to review our current understanding of some of the cellular and molecular mechanisms responsible for age-related changes in skeletal muscle.Keywords
This publication has 146 references indexed in Scilit:
- Modulation of overload-induced inflammation by aging and anabolic steroid administrationExperimental Gerontology, 2006
- Resistance training, insulin sensitivity and muscle function in the elderlyEssays in Biochemistry, 2006
- Growth hormone promotes skeletal muscle cell fusion independent of insulin-like growth factor 1 up-regulationProceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, 2006
- The regulation of Notch signaling in muscle stem cell activation and postnatal myogenesisSeminars in Cell & Developmental Biology, 2005
- Age-dependent imbalance of the antioxidative system in human satellite cellsExperimental Gerontology, 2005
- AMPK activity is diminished in tissues of IL-6 knockout mice: the effect of exerciseBiochemical and Biophysical Research Communications, 2004
- Calcium signalling: dynamics, homeostasis and remodellingNature Reviews Molecular Cell Biology, 2003
- Catabolism of aging: is it an inflammatory process?Current Opinion in Clinical Nutrition and Metabolic Care, 2003
- Role of insulin‐like growth factor binding protein‐3 (IGFBP‐3) in the differentiation of primary human adult skeletal myoblastsJournal of Cellular Physiology, 2003
- Excitation‐contraction coupling and sarcoplasmic reticulum function in lechanically skinned fibres from fast skeletal muscles of aged miceThe Journal of Physiology, 2002