Do not neglect the role of circadian rhythm in muscle atrophy

• Published in: Ageing research reviews 2020-11, Vol.63, p.101155-101155, Article 101155
• Main Authors: Zhang, Hu, Liang, Jiling, Chen, Ning
• Format: Article
• Language: English
• Subjects: Circadian Rhythm; Humans; Mitochondrial; Muscle atrophy; Muscle satellite cell; Muscle, Skeletal - metabolism; Muscular Atrophy - metabolism; Protein Biosynthesis; Protein synthesis and degradation; Quality control
• ISSN: 1568-1637; 1872-9649
• DOI: 10.1016/j.arr.2020.101155

•Abnormal circadian rhythm can induce the atrophy of skeletal muscle.•Regulating circadian rhythm to normal level can delay the atrophy of skeletal muscle.•Appropriate exercise and diets can regulate circadian rhythm.•Exercise and diet-mediated circadian rhythm is beneficial for preventing and treating atrophy. In addition to its role in movement, human skeletal muscle also plays important roles in physiological activities related to metabolism and the endocrine system. Aging and disease onset and progression can induce the reduction of skeletal muscle mass and function, thereby exacerbating skeletal muscle atrophy. Recent studies have confirmed that skeletal muscle atrophy is mainly controlled by the balance between protein synthesis and degradation, the activation of satellite cells, and mitochondrial quality in skeletal muscle. Circadian rhythm is an internal rhythm related to an organism’s adaptation to light-dark or day-night cycles of the planet, and consists of a core biological clock and a peripheral biological clock. Skeletal muscle, as the most abundant tissue in the human body, is an essential part of the peripheral biological clock in humans. Increasing evidence has confirmed that maintaining a normal circadian rhythm can be beneficial for increasing protein content, improving mitochondrial quality, and stimulating regeneration and repairing of cells in skeletal muscle to prevent or alleviate skeletal muscle atrophy. In this review, we summarize the roles and underlying mechanisms of circadian rhythm in delaying skeletal muscle atrophy, which will provide a theoretical reference for incorporating aspects of circadian rhythm to the prevention and treatment of skeletal muscle atrophy.