J Korean Med Sci.  2001 Aug;16(4):467-474. 10.3346/jkms.2001.16.4.467.

Apoptosis of Skeletal Muscle on Steroid-Induced Myopathy in Rats

• Lee MJ
• Lee JS
• Lee MC

• KMID: 648306
• DOI: http://doi.org/10.3346/jkms.2001.16.4.467

Abstract

Recently apoptotic cell death has been reported in differentiated skeletal muscle, where apoptosis was generally assumed not to occur. To investigate whether apoptosis may contribute to the steroid-induced myopathy, rats treated with triamcinolone acetonide (TA) for 9 days were sacrificed for detecting apoptosis by in situ end labeling (ISEL) and electron microscopy in the soleus muscles. Immunohistochemical stainings of Fas antigen and p53 protein were performed to examine whether apoptosis-related proteins were present in the myopathy. Muscle fiber necrosis and apoptotic myonuclei appeared in the soleus muscles following administration of TA, while control muscles showed no evidences for apoptosis. Fas antigen was not detected in control muscles, but expressed in the soleus muscles of steroid-induced myopathy. Some of the Fas antigen-expressing muscle fibers were positive for ISEL. p53 protein was not detected in any muscle fibers. These findings indicate that TA can induce apoptosis in differentiated skeletal muscles, and Fas antigen might be partly related to apoptotic muscle death in steroid-induced myopathy.

Keyword

Myopathy, Steroid-Induced; Apoptosis; Fas Antigens, CD95; Protein p53; Muscular Diseases

MeSH Terms

Animal
Antigens, CD95/analysis
*Apoptosis
Female
Immunohistochemistry
Microscopy, Electron
Muscle, Skeletal/*pathology/ultrastructure
Muscular Diseases/chemically induced/*pathology
Protein p53/analysis
Rats
Rats, Sprague-Dawley
Triamcinolone Acetonide/*toxicity