Cellular and molecular responses of human skeletal muscle exposed to hypoxic environment

The effects of a hypobaric, hypoxic environment and exercise performed under extreme conditions, such as at high altitudes, are intriguing physiological aspects that need to be investigated directly on human climbers. Their skeletal muscle is one of the main tissues that can suffer from hypoxia and physical challenges, which will both define the muscle adaptation and the molecular signature of regenerative capacity. We investigated the muscle regenerative capacity characterizing satellite cells. Our study shows that satellite cells are altered by hypobaric, hypoxic environments and exercise performed at high altitudes. Of note, in human skeletal muscle after this 5,000 m a.s.l. expedition, SCs showed a significantly lower ability to regenerate skeletal muscle, in respect to before this high-altitude expedition. This impairment appears to be due to reduced satellite cell activity, consistent with their decreased myogenicity and fusion ability. Furthermore, at the transcriptional level several pathways, such as cell cycle, myogenesis, oxidative metabolism, proteolysis and sarcomeric protein synthesis, were found dysregulated.