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Developmental regulation of cation pumps in skeletal and cardiac muscle
1Department of Cellular Physiology, Babraham Institute, Cambridge, UK.
Insights
Muscle development during prenatal and postnatal periods is crucial for lifelong health. Changes in sodium-potassium and calcium-ATPases impact muscle function and long-term health outcomes.
Area of Science:
- Developmental Biology
- Muscle Physiology
- Biochemistry
Background:
- Prenatal and early postnatal development are critical periods influencing long-term health.
- Muscle development is essential for numerous physiological functions and defects can lead to neonatal impairment and adult degenerative diseases.
- Proper muscle structure and function depend on the development of sarcomeric proteins, sarcolemma, and associated membrane-bound ATPases.
Purpose of the Study:
- To review changes in the concentrations of sodium-potassium (Na+, K+-ATPase) and calcium-ATPases during prenatal and postnatal development.
- To examine the role of specific ATPase isoforms in muscle contractile performance during development.
- To discuss regulatory mechanisms influencing ATPase concentrations and function during ontogeny.
Main Methods:
- Review of literature focusing on changes in ATPase concentrations in diverse mammalian muscles.
- Analysis of developmental changes in ATPase isoforms and their implications for muscle function.
- Discussion of intrinsic and extrinsic regulatory factors affecting muscle development.
Main Results:
- Cation pumps, Na+, K+-ATPase and Ca(2+)-ATPase, undergo significant changes in concentration during prenatal and postnatal life.
- The relative abundance of specific ATPase isoforms varies, impacting muscle contractile performance at different developmental stages.
- Hormones, contractile activity, nutrition, and environmental temperature are key regulatory factors influencing muscle development.
Conclusions:
- Developmental changes in Na+, K+-ATPase and Ca(2+)-ATPase concentrations and isoforms are critical for ensuring proper muscle function.
- Understanding these developmental processes and regulatory mechanisms is essential for addressing muscle-related health issues.
- Interactions between intrinsic and extrinsic factors play a significant role in postnatal muscle development and long-term health.
Abstract:
The prenatal and early postnatal periods are critical stages during which long-term development can be affected. For example, retardation of growth during these periods is closely linked to the occurrence of adult degenerative diseases. Appropriate development of muscle is essential for numerous functions, including movement, posture, thermogenesis, breathing and maintenance of the circulation. Defects in normal muscle development could thus impair any of these functions in the neonate and may also have long-term consequences for the health of the individual. Central to normal muscle structure and function is the appropriate development not only of the sarcomeric proteins but also of the sarcolemma, transverse-tubules, sarcoplasmic reticulum and associated membrane-bound ATPases. Long-term regulation of these ATPases is by changes in their concentration, whereas short-term regulation is mediated by alterations in enzyme activity. This review focuses on changes in total concentrations of Na+, K+, and Ca(2+)-ATPases during prenatal and postnatal life, in functionally diverse muscles of mammalian species born at different stages of maturity. Both these cation pumps belong to multigene families and changes in relative abundance of their specific isoforms are also considered because they may have important consequences for contractile performance during distinct stages of development. Finally, potential regulatory mechanisms which alter markedly during normal ontogeny are discussed. These include intrinsic factors such as hormones and contractile activity, extrinsic factors such as nutrition and environmental temperature, and interactions between these variables which are known to be especially important during postnatal development.