Intermittent glucocorticoid treatment enhances skeletal muscle performance through sexually dimorphic mechanisms [RNA-seq]

Glucocorticoid steroids are commonly prescribed for inflammatory conditions such as rheumatoid arthritis and acute respiratory distress, but chronic daily use produces an array of adverse effects including muscle wasting and weakness. In contrast, shorter and lower dose glucocorticoid pulses may improve athletic performance, although the mechanisms by which this occurs remain unclear. Muscle is sexually dimorphic and comparatively little is known about how male and female muscle respond to glucocorticoid steroids. In this work, we investigated the impact of a once-weekly glucocorticoid exposure on body mass and skeletal muscle performance, comparing male and female mice. We performed RNA sequencing of isolated myofibers from quadriceps of C57BL/6 male and female mice given vehicle, weekly, or daily prednisone for one month. RNA sequencing of one control (vehicle) and two treatment (weekly, daily prednisone) groups, n=3 males and 3 females per treatment