Apoptosis is present in skeletal muscle of cachectic gastro-intestinal cancer patients

• Published in: Clinical nutrition (Edinburgh, Scotland) Vol. 26; no. 5; pp. 614 - 618
• Main Authors: Busquets, Sílvia, Deans, Chris, Figueras, Maite, Moore-Carrasco, Rodrigo, López-Soriano, Francisco J., Fearon, Kenneth C.H., Argilés, Josep M.
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: Kidlington Elsevier Ltd 01.10.2007; Elsevier
• Subjects: Aged; Apoptosis; Biological and medical sciences; C-Reactive Protein - metabolism; Cachexia - complications; Cachexia - metabolism; Cachexia - pathology; Cancer cachexia; Case-Control Studies; DNA Fragmentation; Etanercept; Female; Gastroenterology and Hepatology; Gastroenterology. Liver. Pancreas. Abdomen; Gastrointestinal Neoplasms - complications; Gastrointestinal Neoplasms - metabolism; Gastrointestinal Neoplasms - pathology; Gene Expression Regulation, Neoplastic; Humans; Immunoglobulin G - metabolism; Interleukin-6 - blood; Male; Medical sciences; Metabolic diseases; Muscle, Skeletal - metabolism; Muscle, Skeletal - pathology; MyoD; PARP; Receptors, Tumor Necrosis Factor - metabolism; Stomach. Duodenum. Small intestine. Colon. Rectum. Anus; Tumors; Cancer cachexia; PARP; MyoD; Apoptosis; Human; Nutrition; Intestinal cancer; Digestive diseases; Intestinal disease; Patient; Malignant tumor; Striated muscle; Cancer
• ISSN: 0261-5614; 1532-1983
• DOI: 10.1016/j.clnu.2007.06.005

Previous studies of our research group have shown that apoptosis is present in skeletal muscle of tumour-bearing animals subject to cachexia. For this reason we decided to investigate the apoptosis in skeletal muscle of cancer patients. In the present study, muscle biopsies from weight-losing patients with upper gastro-intestinal cancer showed a significant increase in muscle DNA fragmentation (three-fold), as compared with control subjects. The increase in DNA laddering was associated with an increase in poly(ADP-ribose) polymerase (PARP) cleavage (four-fold) as measured by western blotting. These two events indicate the presence of muscle apoptosis. These changes were associated with a decrease in MyoD protein content, suggesting important alterations in skeletal muscle physiology. The results presented therefore confirm that apoptosis is also present in human subjects undergoing cancer cachexia.