• Journal of The Korean Society of Integrative Medicine
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• v.5 no.4
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• pp.49-55
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• 2017

Purpose : In this study we tested the hypothesis that eucommia ulmoides (EU) extract would improve disuse-induced muscle atrophy following hindlimb immobilization. Method : The hindlimb immobilization was performed with casting tape to keep the left ankle joint in a fully extended position. The rats in EU treated group were orally administrated with eucommia ulmoides water extract. After 2 weeks of immobilization, all animals were sacrificed, and the whole gastrocnemius muscles were dissected from both legs. The morphology of right and left gastrocnemius muscles in both EU and control groups were assessed by hematoxylin and eosin staining. Results : Eucommia ulmoides extract represented the significant protective effects against the reductions of the gastrocnemius muscles weight and average cross section area to compared with Control group. Conclusion : Eucommia ulmoides has protective effects against immobilization induced muscle atrophy.

• Journal of Nutrition and Health
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• v.44 no.5
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• pp.355-365
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• 2011

This study investigated how dietary fat affects muscle atrophy and lipid metabolism in various muscles during hindlimb immobilization in rats. Twenty-four male Sprague?Dawley rats had their left hindlimb immobilized and were divided into four groups by dietary fat content and composition. The contralateral hindlimb (control) was compared with the immobilized limb in all dietary groups. Rats (n = 6/group) were fed a 4% corn oil diet (CO), 2.6% corn oil + 1.4% fish oil diet (FO), 30% corn oil diet (HCO), or a 30% beef tallow diet (HBT)after their hind limbs were immobilized for 10 days. Data were collected for the gastrocnemius, plantaris and soleus muscles. Muscle atrophy was induced significantly after 10 days of hindlimb immobilization, resulting in significantly decreased muscle mass and total muscle protein content. The protein levels of peroxisome proliferator activated receptor ${\delta}$ (PPAR${\delta}$) in the plantaris, gastrocnemius, and soleus increased following hindlimb immobilization irrespective of dietary fat intake. Interestingly, the PPAR${\delta}$ mRNA level in the plantaris decreased significantly in all groups and that in the FO group was lower than that in the other groups. The soleus PPAR${\delta}$ mRNA level decreased significantly following hindlimb immobilization in the FO group only. Muscle carnitine palmitoyl transferase 1 (mCPT1) mRNA level was not affected by hindlimb immobilization. However, the mCPT1 mRNA level in the FO group was significantly lower in the plantaris but higher in the soleus than that in the other groups. The pyruvate dehydrogenase kinase 4 (PDK4) mRNA level in the plantaris decreased significantly, whereas that in the soleus increased significantly following hindlimb immobilization. The plantaris, but not soleus, PDK4 mRNA level was significantly higher in the FO group than that in the CO group. The increased PPAR${\delta}$ protein level following hindlimb immobilization may have suppressed triglyceride accumulation in muscles and different types of dietary fat may have differentially affected muscle atrophy according to muscle type. Our results suggest that ${\omega}$-3 polyunsaturated fatty acids may suppress muscle atrophy and lipid accumulation by positively affecting the expression level and activity of PPAR${\delta}$ and PPAR${\delta}$-related enzymes, which are supposed to play an important role in muscle lipid metabolism.

• Journal of Acupuncture Research
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• v.36 no.4
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• pp.238-244
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• 2019

Background: This study aimed to investigate the protective effects of Zanthoxylum bungeanum Maxim pharmacopuncture on disuse muscle atrophy in the gastrocnemius muscle of rats. Methods: Thirty male 250 g Sprague-Dawley rats were distributed randomly into 3 groups. The left hindlimb immobilization was performed with casting tape for 2 weeks, and no treatment was given to the right hindlimb. Rats received pharmacopuncture and were injected daily on the BL57 with either 2 mL of Zanthoxylum bungeanum Maxim aqueous extract (ZM-W group), 1 mL pharmacopuncture of Zanthoxylum bungeanum Maxim ethanol extract (ZM-E group), or 2 mL normal saline (control group). After 2 weeks of immobilization, the weight of the whole gastrocnemius muscle was measured, and the morphology of both the left and the right gastrocnemius muscles were assessed by Hematoxylin and Eosin staining. To investigate the immobilization-induced muscular apoptosis, the immunohistochemical analysis of BAX and Bcl-2 was carried out. Results: ZM-W and ZM-E significantly inhibited the reduction in weight of the left gastrocnemius muscle, the reduction in the left myofibrils, and the cross-sectional area of gastrocnemius, as compared with the control. Moreover, the ZM-W and ZM-E groups showed significantly reduced immunoreactivity for BAX, and increased immunoreactivity of Bcl-2 in left gastrocnemius muscle compared with the control group. Conclusion: These results suggest that Zanthoxylum bungeanum Maxim pharmacopuncture has protective effects against immobilization-induced muscle atrophy by regulating the activity of apoptosis-associated BAX / Bcl-2 proteins in the gastrocnemius muscle.

• Journal of Korean Medicine Rehabilitation
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• v.27 no.4
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• pp.1-9
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• 2017

Objectives Oxidative stress, in which antioxidant proteins and scavenger protection are overwhelmed by reactive oxygen species (ROS) production, is recognized as one of central causes of disuse muscle atrophy. In this study, the hypothesis that oral treatment with Dangguibohyul-tang (Dangguibuxuetang) could attenuate immobilization-induced skeletal muscle atrophy was tested. Methods The hindlimb immobilization was performed with casting tape to keep the left ankle joint in a fully extended position. The Rats in Dangguibohyul-tang treated group (DGBHT) (n=10) were orally administrated Dangguibohyul-tang water extract, and rats of Control group (n=10) were given with saline only. After 2 weeks of immobilization, the morphology of right and left gastrocnemius muscles in both DGBHT and Control groups were assessed by hematoxylin and eosin staining. Results Dangguibohyul-tang water extract represented the significant protective effects against the reductions of the left gastrocnemius muscles weight and average cross section area to compared with Control group. Moreover, the treatment with Dangguibohyul-tang extract significantly enhanced the Cu/Zn-SOD activities in gastrocnemius muscle compared with Control group. Conclusions Thses results suggest that Dangguibohyul-tang has protective effects against immobilization-induced muscle atrophy by increasing the Cu/Zn-SOD activities in gastrocnemius muscle.

• Journal of Korean Medicine Rehabilitation
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• v.28 no.4
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• pp.1-9
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• 2018

Objectives Disuse muscle atrophy occurs in response to pathologies such as joint immobilization, inactivity or bed rest. Muscle disuse is accompanied by an increase in apoptotic signaling, which mediates some of the responses to unloading in the muscle. GB34 (Yanglingquan) is a acupuncture point on the lower leg and one of the most frequently used points in various skeletomuscular diseases. In this study, the hypothesis that the acupuncture at GB34 could attenuate immobilization-induced skeletal muscle atrophy was tested. Methods The left hindlimb immobilization was performed with casting tape in both GB34 group (n=10) and Control group (n=10). The rats in GB34 group were daily treated with acupuncture at GB34. After 2 weeks of immobilization, the morphology of right and left gastrocnemius muscles in both GB34 and Control groups were assessed by hematoxylin and eosin staining. To investigate the immobilization-induced muscular apoptosis, the immunohistochemical analysis of Bax and Bcl-2 was carried out. Results GB34 group represented the significant protective effects against the reductions of the left gastrocnemius muscles weight and average cross section area to compared with Control group. The acupuncture at GB34 significantly reduced the immunoreactivity of BAX and increased the immunoreactivity of Bcl-2 in gastrocnemius muscle compared with Control group. Conclusions These results suggest that the acupuncture at GB34 has protective effects against immobilization-induced muscle atrophy by regulating the activities of apoptosis-associated BAX/Bcl-2 proteins in gastrocnemius muscle.

• Herbal Formula Science
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• v.25 no.4
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• pp.499-508
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• 2017

Objectives : Skeletal muscle atrophy occurs in response to a variety of conditions. The unloading to muscle occurs clinically in limb immobilization, bed rest, spinal cord injury and peripheral nerve damage, resulting in significant loss of muscle mass and force production. Muscle disuse is accompanied by an increase in apoptotic signaling, which mediates some of the responses to unloading in the muscle. In this study we tested the hypothesis that Daeyeoung-jeon extract would improve muscle recovery after reloading following disuse. Method : Twenty young male Sprague-Dawley rats were used for the studies. The hindlimb immobilization was performed with casting tape to keep the left ankle joint in a fully extended position. No intervention was performed on the right leg and used as intact region. The Rats in Daeyeoung-jeon treated group (DYJ) were orally administrated Daeyeoung-jeon water extract, and rats of Control group were given with saline only. After 2 weeks of immobilization, all animals were sacrificed, and the whole gastrocnemius muscles were dissected from both legs. The morphology of right and left gastrocnemius muscles in both DYJ and Control groups were assessed by hematoxylin and eosin staining. Moreover, to investigate the immobilization-induced muscular apoptosis, the immunohistochemical analysis of Bax and Bcl-2 was carried out. Results : Daeyeoung-jeon represented the significant protective effects against the reductions of the left gastrocnemius muscles weight and average cross section area to compared with Control group. The treatment with Daeyeoung-jeon extract significantly reduced the immunoreactivity of BAX and increased the immunoreactivity of Bcl-2 in gastrocnemius muscle compared with Control group. Conclusion : Daeyeoung-jeon has protective effects against immobilization-induced muscle atrophy by regulating the activities of apoptosis-associated BAX/Bcl-2 proteins in gastrocnemius muscle.

• Korean Journal of Exercise Nutrition
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• v.23 no.3
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• pp.45-49
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• 2019

[Purpose] Recent studies suggest that ursolic acid (UA) is a potential candidate for a resistance exercise mimetic that can increase muscle mass and alleviate the deleterious effect of skeletal muscle atrophy on bone health. However, these studies evaluated the effects of UA on skeletal muscle and bone tissues, and they have not verified whether such effect could occur concurrently on muscle and bone, as is the case with resistance exercise. Thus, the aim of this study was to analyze the effect of UA injection on muscle mass and bone microstructure using an animal model of atrophy to demonstrate the potential of UA as a resistance exercise mimetic. [Methods] The immobilization (IM) method was used on the left hindlimb of Sprague Dawley (SD) rats for 10 days to induce muscle atrophy, whereas the right hindlimb was used as an internal control (IC). The animal models were divided into two groups, SED (sedentary, n=6) and UA (n=6) to demonstrate the effect of UA on atrophic skeletal muscles. The UA group received a daily intraperitoneal injection of UA (5 mg/kg/day) for 8 weeks. After 10 days of IM, the data collected for the IC were compared with that of IM to determine whether muscle atrophy might occur. [Results] Muscle atrophy was induced and bone mineral density (BMD) decreased significantly. The 8-week UA treatment significantly increased the gastrocnemius muscle mass compared to the SED group. In regard to the effect of UA on bones, negative results such as a decrease in BMD, trabecular bone volume fraction, and trabecular number, and an increase in trabecular separation, were observed in the SED group, but no such difference was observed in the UA group. No significant difference was observed in atrophic hindlimbs between SED and UA groups. [Conclusion] These results alone are insufficient to suggest that UA is a potential resistance exercise mimetic for atrophic skeletal muscle and weakened bone. However, this study will help determine the potential of UA as a resistance exercise mimetic.