Effects of aging and gender on muscle mass and regulation of Akt-mTOR-p70s6k related signaling in the F344BN rat model.

Sarcopenia is the loss of muscle mass and strength which occurs with aging. Whether the molecular basis of sarcopenia differs with muscle type and across sex is not well understood. Here we examine how aging affects the regulation of protein kinase B (Akt), the mammalian target of rapamycin (mTOR), AMP activated kinase (AMPK), p70 ribosomal S6 kinase (p70s6k), S6 ribosomal protein (rps6) and calcineurin (CaN) in the slow soleus and fast extensor digitorum longus (EDL) muscles of 6- (adult), 30- (aged), and 36-month (very aged) male and 6- (adult), 26- (aged), and 30-month (very aged) female Fischer 344xBrown Norway (F344BN) rats. In male animals, soleus and EDL muscle to body weight ratios decreased steadily with age while in the females, losses remained unchanged after 26 months. These age-related changes in the degree of muscle atrophy across sex were associated with differences in the regulation of Akt, mTOR, and p70s6k in the slow-twitch soleus and the regulation of AMPK, 4EBP1, p70s6k and rpS6 in the fast-twitch EDL. Irrespective of muscle type, aging in both the genders was associated with increased calcineurin expression. Taken together, these data suggest that indices of protein synthesis and muscle adaptation are regulated differently with aging in different muscle types and sex.