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Mechanotransduction Mechanisms of Muscle Hypertrophy:  Translation from Rodent to Human Studies
Sponsored by APS Environmental & Exercise Physiology Section

Skeletal muscle exhibits a high degree of plasticity that is closely coupled to the mechanical forces acting on the system.  Understanding mechanisms of load-mediated myogenesis is extremely important in the prevention of muscle atrophy and/or restoration of muscle mass in patients suffering from declining muscle mass (e.g. wasting, cachexia, sarcopenia, disuse).  Mechanical load-induced myofiber hypertrophy requires net muscle protein synthesis, and advanced fiber expansion is facilitated by nuclear addition.  Over the past decade, a number of human studies have begun to translate important findings from animal models to reveal key mechanotransduction mechanisms that likely drive these two processes.  In this symposium we will describe cellular and molecular signaling events that are responsive to mechanical load in both rodent and human models of muscle hypertrophy.  We will discuss: (1) key regulatory steps in the translation initiation/protein synthesis and protein degradation machinery; (2) mechanisms of myonuclear addition and satellite cell activation/cell cycle regulation; and (3) growth and myogenic factors modulating both protein synthesis and satellite cell activation.