Longitudinal RNA-Seq analysis of acute and chronic neurogenic skeletal muscle atrophy

Skeletal muscle is a highly adaptable tissue capable of changes in size, contractility, and metabolism according to functional demands. Atrophy is a decline in mass and strength caused by pathologic loss of myofibrillar proteins, and can result from disuse, aging, or denervation caused by injury or peripheral nerve disorders. We provide a high-quality longitudinal RNA-Seq dataset of skeletal muscle from a cohort of adult C57BL/6J male mice subjected to tibial nerve denervation for 0 (baseline), 1, 3, 7, 14, 30, or 90 days. Using an unbiased genomics approach to identify gene expression changes across the entire longitudinal course of muscle atrophy affords the opportunity to 1) establish acute responses to denervation, 2) detect pathways that mediate rapid loss of muscle mass within the first week after denervation, and 3) capture the molecular phenotype of chronically atrophied muscle at a stage when it is largely resistant to recovery.

骨骼肌是一种高度可塑性组织，可根据功能需求调整其体积、收缩能力与代谢状态。肌萎缩是指肌原纤维蛋白病理性丢失所引发的肌肉质量与力量下降，可由废用、衰老，或损伤、周围神经病变导致的去神经支配所诱发。本研究提供了一套高质量的纵向RNA测序（RNA-Seq）数据集，样本来自成年雄性C57BL/6J小鼠的骨骼肌，这些小鼠接受胫骨神经去神经支配处理后，分别于0天（基线）、1天、3天、7天、14天、30天及90天取材。本研究采用无偏倚基因组学方法，对肌肉萎缩整个纵向病程中的基因表达变化进行鉴定，可实现三大研究目标：1）明确机体对去神经支配的急性应答反应；2）解析介导去神经支配后第一周内肌肉质量快速丢失的信号通路；3）捕获慢性萎缩骨骼肌在基本无法恢复阶段的分子表型。