Graduate School of Biomedical Science and Engineering, University of Maine, Orono, United States.
School of Biology and Ecology, University of Maine, Orono, United States.
Elife. 2022 Mar 24;11:e62760. doi: 10.7554/eLife.62760.
Neuromuscular electrical stimulation (NMES) allows activation of muscle fibers in the absence of voluntary force generation. NMES could have the potential to promote muscle homeostasis in the context of muscle disease, but the impacts of NMES on diseased muscle are not well understood. We used the zebrafish Duchenne muscular dystrophy () mutant and a longitudinal design to elucidate the consequences of NMES on muscle health. We designed four neuromuscular stimulation paradigms loosely based on weightlifting regimens. Each paradigm differentially affected neuromuscular structure, function, and survival. Only endurance neuromuscular stimulation (eNMES) improved all outcome measures. We found that eNMES improves muscle and neuromuscular junction morphology, swimming, and survival. Heme oxygenase and integrin alpha7 are required for eNMES-mediated improvement. Our data indicate that neuromuscular stimulation can be beneficial, suggesting that the right type of activity may benefit patients with muscle disease.
神经肌肉电刺激（NMES）可在无需自主产生力量的情况下激活肌肉纤维。NMES 有可能促进肌肉疾病背景下的肌肉稳态，但 NMES 对患病肌肉的影响尚不清楚。我们使用斑马鱼杜氏肌营养不良症（）突变体和纵向设计来阐明 NMES 对肌肉健康的影响。我们设计了四个基于举重方案的神经肌肉刺激方案。每个方案对神经肌肉结构、功能和存活有不同的影响。只有耐力神经肌肉刺激（eNMES）改善了所有的测量指标。我们发现 eNMES 改善了肌肉和神经肌肉接头的形态、游泳能力和存活率。血红素加氧酶和整合素 alpha7 是 eNMES 介导的改善所必需的。我们的数据表明，神经肌肉刺激可能是有益的，这表明正确的活动类型可能有益于肌肉疾病患者。
