Modulating effect of androgen on ubiquitin ligases in a rat model of skeletal muscle atrophy / 解放军医学杂志

ABSTRACT

Objective To study the effect of testosterone on skeletal muscle atrophy of rats induced by dexamethasone,and to explore the relationship between androgen and ubiquitin ligase expression in skeletal muscle.Methods Forty female SD rats were randomly divided into four groupcontrol group(CON),dexamethasone group(DEX),testosterone group(TES)and testosterone plus dexamethasone group(TES+DEX).Blood samples were collected from the abdominal aorta and then centrifuged.The supernatant was collected and stored at-20℃.Gastrocnemius was removed and stored at-80℃.The cross-sectional area(CSA)of muscle fiber was determined by microscopic images of digitized muscle sections,using a computer-based imaging processing system.The expression of muscle atrophy F-box(MAFbx)and muscle RING finger-1(MuRF1)mRNA in skeletal muscle was determined by real-time PCR.The expression of testosterone protein in serum was determined by immunoradiometry.Results Dexamethasone increased the expression of MAFbx and MuRF1 mRNA in skeletal muscle(P