Identification of cold-shock protein RBM3 as a possible regulator of skeletal muscle size

The goal of this study was to identify changes in muscle gene expression that may contribute to loss of adaptability of old muscle. Muscle atrophy was induced in young adult (6-month) and old (32-month) male Brown Norway/F344 rats by two weeks of hind limb suspension (HS) and soleus muscles were analyzed by cDNA microarrays. We conclude that a cold shock response may be part of a compensatory mechanism in muscles undergoing atrophy to preserve remaining muscle mass and that RBM3 may be a therapeutic target to prevent muscle loss. 6 (C3, Cy5) arrays along with their dye-swap were generated for the aged rats; 3 (C3, Cy5) arrays along with their dye-swap were generated for the adult rats. Each array had two replicates top and bottom consisting of the same 9984 genes each.