Yahui Peng, Jihong Li, Dixian Luo, Shuai Zhang, Sijia Li, Dayong Wang, Xidi Wang, Zhujun Zhang, Xue Wang, Changhui Sun, Xu Gao, Yang Hui, Rongzhang He
BACKGROUND: ALAS2 (delta-aminolevulinate synthase 2) is one of the two isoenzymes catalyzing the synthesis of delta-aminolevulinic acid (ALA), which is the first precursor of heme synthesis. ALAS2-overexpressing transgenic mice (Tg mice) showed syndrome of porphyria, a series of diseases related to the heme anabolism deficiency. Tg mice showed an obvious decrease in muscle size. Muscle atrophy results from a decrease in protein synthesis and an increase in protein degradation, which ultimately leads to a decrease in myofiber size due to loss of contractile proteins, organelles, nuclei, and cytoplasm...
March 30, 2021: Skeletal Muscle