Impact of miR29c overexpression on skeletal muscle mass and function in mice

• Grant number: 25/00791-5
• Support Opportunities: Regular Research Grants
• Start date: July 01, 2025
• End date: June 30, 2027
• Field of knowledge: Biological Sciences - Morphology - Anatomy
• Principal Investigator: Anselmo Sigari Moriscot
• Grantee: Anselmo Sigari Moriscot
• Host Institution: Instituto de Ciências Biomédicas (ICB). Universidade de São Paulo (USP). São Paulo , SP, Brazil

Abstract

Proper functioning of skeletal muscle tissue plays a crucial role in maintaining homeostasis. Furthermore, conditions that result in significant loss of skeletal muscle mass are associated with highly relevant clinical conditions, such as joint injuries and sarcopenia. It is well known that sarcopenic individuals have an increased chance of death when undergoing surgical procedures, and it is currently established that sarcopenia is an independent factor for increased mortality. These examples highlight the need to develop therapeutic strategies that optimize the maintenance of muscle mass and function and it is in this context that this proposal arises. Our research group agreed in 2019 that microRNA-29c has a hypertrophic effect and corresponding increase in contraction force. We show that although the AKT-mTOR hypertrophic pathway is not associated with the gain in muscle mass induced by the aforementioned microRNA, there is a consistent increase in protein synthesis, which is one of the issues that will be addressed in the present project. Furthermore, we will manipulate microRNA-29c levels using genetically modified animals, with specific inducible muscle expression.The upcoming results of this proposal have the potential to enable future approaches involving clinical conditions in which it is desired to contain the loss or improve the gain of muscle mass. (AU)