Academy for Engineering and Technology, Fudan University, Shanghai 200433, China.
Center for Biomedical Engineering, School of Information Science and Technology, Fudan University, Shanghai 200438, China.
Ultrasonics. 2023 Jul;132:106984. doi: 10.1016/j.ultras.2023.106984. Epub 2023 Mar 16.
Due to aging and long-term estrogen deficiency, postmenopausal women suffer muscle atrophy (MA), which is characterized by decreased muscle mass and muscle quality. Low-intensity pulsed ultrasound (LIPUS) is an acoustic wave inducing biological effects mainly by the mechanical stimulation and used as a non-invasive physical therapy for muscle repair. Parathyroid hormone (PTH) is an 84-amino-acid polypeptide, and its bioactive fragment [PTH (1-34)] has potential application in the treatment of MA. We speculate that the combination of physical therapy (i.e., the LIPUS) and regulatory hormone (i.e., the PTH) would be more effective in the treatment of MA. The objective of this study was to evaluate the individual and combined effects of LIPUS and PTH therapy on MA in estrogen deficiency mice. Seventy 8-week-old female C57BL/6J mice were used in this study and the MA model was induced by an intraperitoneal injection of 4-vinylcyclohexene diepoxide (VCD) for 20 consecutive days. The VCD-induced MA mice were randomly divided into MA, LIPUS, PTH and LIPUS + PTH (Combined) groups (n = 10/group). In the LIPUS group, the mice were treated by LIPUS in bilateral quadriceps muscles for 20 min, five times a week for 6 weeks. In the PTH group, the mice received subcutaneous injection of PTH (1-34) (80 ug/kg/d) five times a week, for 6 weeks. In the Combined group, the PTH was administrated 30 min before each LIPUS session. Hematoxylin-eosin (H&E) staining, serum biochemical analysis and quantitative real-time polymerase chain reaction (qRT-PCR) were applied to evaluate the therapeutic effects of related treatments. The results showed that the MA mice had a disordered estrus cycle, significantly decreased muscle mass and myofibers cross-sectional area (CSA). After treatments, LIPUS, PTH and Combined groups had a significantly increased CSA, compared with the MA mice without treatment. In addition, Combined group had a significantly increased mRNA expression of Pax7, MyoD and MyoG, compared with LIPUS and PTH monotherapy groups. Our findings indicated that the combination of LIPUS and PTH treatment improves muscle regeneration ability, which might have potential for treating MA in postmenopausal women.
由于衰老和长期雌激素缺乏，绝经后妇女会出现肌肉萎缩（MA），其特征是肌肉质量和肌肉质量下降。低强度脉冲超声（LIPUS）是一种主要通过机械刺激产生生物效应的声波，被用作肌肉修复的非侵入性物理疗法。甲状旁腺激素（PTH）是一种 84 个氨基酸的多肽，其生物活性片段[PTH（1-34）]在治疗 MA 方面具有潜在的应用。我们推测，物理治疗（即 LIPUS）和调节激素（即 PTH）的联合应用在治疗 MA 方面将更有效。本研究的目的是评估 LIPUS 和 PTH 治疗对去势雌鼠 MA 的单独和联合作用。本研究使用了 70 只 8 周龄雌性 C57BL/6J 小鼠，通过腹腔注射 4-乙烯环己烯二氧环（VCD）连续 20 天诱导 MA 模型。VCD 诱导的 MA 小鼠随机分为 MA、LIPUS、PTH 和 LIPUS+PTH（联合）组（n=10/组）。在 LIPUS 组中，小鼠双侧股四头肌接受 LIPUS 治疗，每周 5 次，共 6 周。在 PTH 组中，每周 5 次皮下注射 PTH（1-34）（80ug/kg/d），共 6 周。在联合组中，PTH 于每次 LIPUS 治疗前 30 分钟给药。采用苏木精-伊红（H&E）染色、血清生化分析和实时定量聚合酶链反应（qRT-PCR）评估相关治疗的疗效。结果表明，MA 小鼠出现发情周期紊乱，肌肉质量和肌纤维横截面积（CSA）明显减少。治疗后，LIPUS、PTH 和联合组 CSA 明显增加，与未治疗的 MA 小鼠相比。此外，与 LIPUS 和 PTH 单药治疗组相比，联合组 Pax7、MyoD 和 MyoG 的 mRNA 表达明显增加。我们的研究结果表明，LIPUS 和 PTH 联合治疗可提高肌肉再生能力，有望用于治疗绝经后妇女的 MA。
