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Effect of a neonatal low-protein diet on the morphology of myotubes in culture and the expression of key proteins that regulate myogenesis in young and adult rats

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Abstract

Aim

To investigate the effects of a neonatal low-protein diet on the morphology of myotubes in culture and the expression of key proteins that regulate myogenesis in young and adult rats.

Methods

Male Wistar rats (n = 18) were suckled by mothers fed diets containing 17% protein (controls, C) or 8% protein (undernourished, UN). All rats were fed a normal protein diet after weaning. Muscles were removed from the legs of 42-, 60- and 90-day-old rats. Muscle cells were cultured to assess cell number, morphology and the expression of major proteins involved in myogenesis (Pax7, cadherins, β1 integrin, IL-4Rα and myogenin) by western blotting. IL-4 levels in culture supernatants were measured by ELISA.

Results

Offspring from mothers fed a low-protein diet showed a lower body weight gain. Cell number and myotube expansion were reduced in cultured muscle cells from UN, but the expression of myogenic marker proteins was unaltered.

Conclusions

Dietary restriction during lactation had no impact on the synthesis of myogenic marker proteins, and myocyte differentiation occurred normally in the muscles of offspring aged 42, 60 or 90 days. Nevertheless, the number and morphology of the myotubes are altered.

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Acknowledgments

The authors wish to thank CAPES-COFECUB (grant 584/07) and the National Council for Science and Technology (CNPq), Brazil, for their financial support.

Conflict of interest

The authors declare that they have no conflict of interest.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Université de Technologie de Compiègne, UMR CNRS 6600, Compiègne, France

    Juliana Félix de Melo, Nijez Aloulou, Jean-Luc Duval, Pascale Vigneron, Lee Bourgoin & Marie-Danielle Nagel

  2. Department of Physical Education and Sports Science, Centro Academico de Vitoria, Federal University of Pernambuco, Pernambuco, Brazil

    Carol Góis Leandro

  3. Department of Tropical Medicine, Federal University of Pernambuco, Pernambuco, Brazil

    Juliana Félix de Melo & Celia M. M. B. de Castro

  4. Laboratório de Imunopatologia Keizo-Asami (LIKA), Setor de Microbiologia, UFPE, Cidade Universitária, 50670-420, Recife, PE, Brazil

    Juliana Félix de Melo

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  1. Juliana Félix de Melo
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  2. Nijez Aloulou
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Correspondence to Juliana Félix de Melo.

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de Melo, J.F., Aloulou, N., Duval, JL. et al. Effect of a neonatal low-protein diet on the morphology of myotubes in culture and the expression of key proteins that regulate myogenesis in young and adult rats. Eur J Nutr 50, 243–250 (2011). https://doi.org/10.1007/s00394-010-0132-9

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s00394-010-0132-9

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