Differential regulation of protein synthesis by skeletal muscle type in chickens.

In mammalian skeletal muscles, protein synthesis rates vary according to fiber types. We herein demonstrated differences in the regulatory mechanism underlying the protein synthesis in the pectoralis major (a glycolytic twitch muscle), adductor superficialis (an oxidative twitch muscle), and adductor profound (a tonic muscle) muscles of 14-day-old chickens. Under ad libitum feeding conditions, protein synthesis is significantly higher in the adductor superficialis muscle than in the pectoralis major muscle, suggesting that protein synthesis is upregulated in oxidative muscles in chickens, similar to that in mammals. In the pectoralis major muscle, fasting significantly inhibited the Akt/S6 pathway and protein synthesis with a corresponding decrease in plasma insulin concentration. Conversely, the insulin like growth factor-1 (IGF-1) mRNA levels significantly increased. These findings suggest that the insulin/Akt/S6 pathway plays an important role in the regulation of protein synthesis in the pectoralis major muscle. Interestingly, protein synthesis in the adductor superficialis muscle appears to be regulated in an Akt-independent manner, because fasting significantly decreased S6 phosphorylation and protein synthesis without affecting Akt phosphorylation. In the adductor profound muscle, IGF-1 expression, phosphorylation of Akt and S6, and protein synthesis were decreased by fasting, suggesting that insulin and/or skeletal IGF-1 appear contribute to protein synthesis via the Akt/S6 pathway. These findings revealed the differential regulation of protein synthesis depending on skeletal muscle types in chickens.

The IGF-1/Akt/S6 pathway and expressions of glycolytic myosin heavy chain isoforms are upregulated in chicken skeletal muscle during the first week after hatching.

Skeletal muscle mass is an important trait in the animal industry. We previously reported an age-dependent downregulation of the insulin-like growth factor 1 (IGF-1)/Akt/S6 pathway, major protein synthesis pathway, in chicken breast muscle after 1 week of age, despite a continuous increase of breast muscle weight. Myosin heavy chain (HC), a major protein in muscle fiber, has several isoforms depending on chicken skeletal muscle types. HC I (fast-twitch glycolytic type) is known to be expressed in adult chicken breast muscle. However, little is known about the changes in the expression levels of protein synthesis-related factors and HC isoforms in perihatching chicken muscle. In the present study, protein synthesis-related factors, such as IGF-1 messenger RNA (mRNA) levels, phosphorylation of Akt, and phosphorylated S6 content, increased in an age-dependent manner after post-hatch day (D) 0. The mRNA levels of HC I, III and V (fast-twitch glycolytic type) dramatically increased after D0. The increase ratio of breast muscle weight was approximately 1100% from D0 to D7. To our knowledge, these findings provide the first evidence that upregulation of protein synthesis pathway and transcription of fast twitch glycolytic HC isoforms play critical roles in the increase of chicken breast muscle weight during the first week after hatching.

Differential regulation of the expression of lipid metabolism-related genes with skeletal muscle type in growing chickens.

The regulatory mechanisms of carbohydrate and lipid metabolism are known to differ among skeletal muscle types in mammals. For example, glycolytic muscles prefer glucose as an energy source, whereas oxidative muscles prefer fatty acids (FA). We herein demonstrated differences in the expression of genes involved in carbohydrate and lipid metabolism in the pectoralis major (a glycolytic twitch muscle), adductor superficialis (an oxidative twitch muscle), and adductor profound (a tonic muscle) of 14-day-old chicks. Under ad libitum feeding conditions, the mRNA levels of muscle type phosphofructokinase-1 were markedly lower in the adductor superficialis muscle, suggesting that basal glycolytic activity is very low in this type of muscle. In contrast, high mRNA levels of lipoprotein lipase (LPL) and fatty acid translocase/cluster of differentiation 36 (FAT/CD36) in the adductor superficialis muscle suggest that FA uptake is high in this type of muscle. The mRNA levels of adipose triglyceride lipase (ATGL) and carnitine palmitoyltransferase 1b (CPT1b) were significantly higher in the adductor profound muscle than in other muscles, suggesting that basal lipolytic activity is high in this type of muscle. Furthermore, the mRNA levels of peroxisome proliferator activated receptor δ and CPT1b were significantly increased in the adductor superficialis muscle, but not in other muscles, after 24h of fasting. Therefore, the availability of FA in the oxidative twitch muscles in growing chickens appears to be upregulated by fasting. Our results suggest that lipid metabolism-related genes are upregulated under both basal and fasting conditions in the adductor superficialis in growing chickens.