International Journal of Physical Medicine & Rehabilitation
Open Access
ISSN: 2329-9096
+44 1300 500008
ISSN: 2329-9096
+44 1300 500008
Robert J. Talmadge
Pomona, CA 91768
Tanzania
Research Article
Rapid Changes in NFAT-directed Transcriptional Activity after Muscle Paralysis Induced by a Spinal Cord Injury
Author(s): Yasinee Rotratsirikun and Robert J. TalmadgeYasinee Rotratsirikun and Robert J. Talmadge
In skeletal muscles, the calcineurin - nuclear factor of activated T-cells (NFAT) pathway has been implicated as a positive regulator of the slow muscle phenotype. Spinal cord transection (ST) results in muscle paralysis and a slow to fast shift in muscle phenotype in the normally slow soleus muscle of rats. Therefore, to determine if the NFAT pathway could mediate the slow to fast shift after ST, NFAT-directed transcription was assessed in the soleus muscle of rats after ST. Seven days after ST, a significant down-regulation in the activity of an exogenous NFAT sensor promoter-reporter construct was observed (~20% of control levels). Second, RT-PCR analyses revealed that MCIP1.4 mRNA, an endogenous indicator of NFAT-directed transcriptional activation, was decreased by ~80% relative to controls when normalized to β-actin mRNA levels. Similarly, real time RT-PCR .. View More»
DOI:
10.4172/2329-9096.1000241