title: Modulation by prednisolone of calcium handling in skeletal muscle cells.
abstract: 1. Increased calcium (Ca2+) influx has been incriminated as a potential pathological mechanism in the chronic skeletal muscle degeneration exhibited by Duchenne muscular dystrophy (DMD) patients. We have studied the influence of the glucocorticoid alpha-methylprednisolone (PDN), the only drug known to have a beneficial effect on the degenerative course of DMD, on Ca2+ handling in the C2 skeletal muscle cell line. 2. PDN, when added 3 days (when myoblasts start to fuse into myotubes) after cell seeding, led to a 2 to 4 fold decrease in cellular Ca2+ uptake. This decrease was independent of the extracellular Ca2+ concentration applied to cells. The effect took at least 24 h in order to become established (PDN of 10(-5) M) and took longer for lower PDN concentrations (EC50 of ca. 10(-6) M at day 5, 10(-6.5) M at day 7 and 10(-7.5) M at day 9 in culture). 3. Cellular calcium accumulation was also decreased in PDN-treated myotubes exposed to 45Ca(2+)-containing medium for 1 to 6 days. 4. No effect of PDN was seen on 45Ca2+ efflux; a decrease in the amount of 45Ca2+ released was observed due to the reduction of cellular 45Ca2+ loading. 5. PDN treatment led to an approximately 2 fold decrease in basal cytosolic Ca2+ concentration. 6. Three antioxidant drugs (lazaroids), previously shown to enhance in vitro skeletal muscle cell differentiation to the same extent as PDN, induced a similar decrease in Ca2+ influx. 7. Our results suggest that long-term incubation of C2 cells with PDN leads to a decrease of the size of the cellular Ca2+ pools and to reduced resting cytosolic Ca2+ levels. Part of the beneficial effect of PDN in DMD patients could be attributed to a reduction of Ca2+ influx and of the size of Ca2+ pools in dystrophic muscle fibres.
authors.affiliation: Pharmacology Group, School of Pharmacy, University of Lausanne, Switzerland.
authors.forename: L
authors.initials: L
authors.lastname: Metzinger
authors.forename: A C
authors.initials: AC
authors.lastname: Passaquin
authors.forename: W J
authors.initials: WJ
authors.lastname: Leijendekker
authors.forename: P
authors.initials: P
authors.lastname: Poindron
authors.forename: U T
authors.initials: UT
authors.lastname: Rüegg
mesh_terms: D000818:Animals; D000975:Antioxidants / Q000494:pharmacology; D002118:Calcium / Q000378:metabolism*; D002454:Cell Differentiation / Q000187:drug effects; D002460:Cell Line; D002839:Chromans / Q000494:pharmacology; D005938:Glucocorticoids / Q000494:pharmacology*; D051379:Mice; D018482:Muscle, Skeletal / Q000166:cytology / Q000187:drug effects* / Q000378:metabolism; D009137:Muscular Dystrophy, Animal / Q000188:drug therapy* / Q000378:metabolism; D010879:Piperazines / Q000494:pharmacology; D011239:Prednisolone / Q000494:pharmacology*; D011281:Pregnatrienes / Q000494:pharmacology
chemical_list: D000975:Antioxidants; D002839:Chromans; D005938:Glucocorticoids; D010879:Piperazines; D011281:Pregnatrienes; C074965:U 74389F; C066382:U 78517F; D011239:Prednisolone; D002118:Calcium; C053355:tirilazad