Effect of iron supplementation and restriction on the regulation of myoglobin (Mb) gene and protein expression in skeletal and cardiac muscles of rats

Author(s)

Janaina Sena de Souza

• Document type: Master's Dissertation
• Press: São Paulo.
• Institution: Universidade de São Paulo (USP). Instituto de Ciências Biomédicas (ICB/SDI)
• Defense date: 2010-03-03

Examining board members

Maria Tereza Nunes; Rosangela Aparecida dos Santos Eichler; Ana Maria Pita Lottenberg

• Advisor: Maria Tereza Nunes

Abstract

Iron is a trace element that can accept and donate electrons. This property makes iron extremely important to several components involved with the proper functioning of the organism and cells. Iron is associated with some proteins, is present in cytochromes, molecules that bind to oxygen (hemoglobin and myoglobin) and a variety of enzymes. The increase and decrease of its offer lead to changes in the expression of mRNAs and proteins responsible for their own homeostasis. It is known that the expression of several genes involved in the metabolism of iron is regulated post-transcriptionally through a mechanism that is triggered by its binding in non-translatable regions of specific mRNAs, which interferes with their polyadenylation, and as a consequence, with the stability and translation of the transcripts. Mb is a heme-protein with 18,8 kDa, highly expressed in skeletal and cardiac muscle, and it belongs to the same family of hemoglobin. About 15% of iron in the body is present in muscle tissue. Thus, this study aimed to investigate if long- and short-term Fe supplementation and restriction affect Mb gene expression in the oxidative Soleus (S), glycolitic Extensorum Digitalis Longus (EDL), and cardiac muscles. It was shown that long- term Fe restriction increased Mb mRNA and protein expression only in S muscle, without interfering in the transcript polyadenylation, whereas Fe supplementation did not alter any parameter evaluated in the three tissues. The short-term iron administration did not change the Mb mRNA, polyadenylation and protein expression in any of the tissues studied. The present results indicate that the regulation of Mb gene expression by iron occurs only at transcriptional level and in a tissue specific manner. (AU)