title: Lysophosphatidic acid-induced RhoA signaling and prolonged macrophage infiltration worsens fibrosis and fatty infiltration following rotator cuff tears.
abstract: Previous studies have suggested that macrophage-mediated chronic inflammation is involved in the development of rotator cuff muscle atrophy and degeneration following massive tendon tears. Increased RhoA signaling has been reported in chronic muscle degeneration, such as muscular dystrophy. However, the role of RhoA signaling in macrophage infiltration and rotator muscle degeneration remains unknown. Using a previously established rat model of massive rotator cuff tears, we found RhoA signaling is upregulated in rotator cuff muscle following a massive tendon-nerve injury. This increase in RhoA expression is greatly potentiated by the administration of a potent RhoA activator, lysophosphatidic acid (LPA), and is accompanied by increased TNFα and TGF-β1 expression in rotator cuff muscle. Boosting RhoA signaling with LPA significantly worsened rotator cuff muscle atrophy, fibrosis, and fatty infiltration, accompanied with massive monocytic infiltration of rotator cuff muscles. Co-staining of RhoA and the tissue macrophage marker CD68 showed that CD68+ tissue macrophages are the dominant cell source of increased RhoA signaling in rotator cuff muscles after tendon tears. Taken together, our findings suggest that LPA-mediated RhoA signaling in injured muscle worsens the outcomes of atrophy, fibrosis, and fatty infiltration by increasing macrophage infiltraion in rotator cuff muscle. Clinically, inhibiting RhoA signaling may represent a future direction for developing new treatments to improve muscle quality following massive rotator cuff tears. © 2016 Orthopaedic Research Society. Published by Wiley Periodicals, Inc. J Orthop Res 35:1539-1547, 2017.
authors: San Francisco Veterans Affairs Health Care System, Department of Veterans Affairs, 1700 Owens Street, Room 364, San Francisco, California 94153.|Department of Orthopaedic Surgery, University of California, San Francisco, California.
authors: Michael R
authors: MR
authors: Davies
authors: San Francisco Veterans Affairs Health Care System, Department of Veterans Affairs, 1700 Owens Street, Room 364, San Francisco, California 94153.
authors: Lawrence
authors: L
authors: Lee
authors: San Francisco Veterans Affairs Health Care System, Department of Veterans Affairs, 1700 Owens Street, Room 364, San Francisco, California 94153.|Department of Orthopaedic Surgery, University of California, San Francisco, California.
authors: Brian T
authors: BT
authors: Feeley
authors: San Francisco Veterans Affairs Health Care System, Department of Veterans Affairs, 1700 Owens Street, Room 364, San Francisco, California 94153.|Department of Orthopaedic Surgery, University of California, San Francisco, California.
authors: Hubert T
authors: HT
authors: Kim
authors: San Francisco Veterans Affairs Health Care System, Department of Veterans Affairs, 1700 Owens Street, Room 364, San Francisco, California 94153.|Department of Orthopaedic Surgery, University of California, San Francisco, California.
authors: Xuhui
authors: X
authors: Liu
mesh_terms: D000818:Animals; D004195:Disease Models, Animal; D005260:Female; D005355:Fibrosis; D008246:Lysophospholipids; D008264:Macrophages / Q000502:physiology*; D009133:Muscular Atrophy / Q000276:immunology* / Q000378:metabolism; D017207:Rats, Sprague-Dawley; D017006:Rotator Cuff / Q000378:metabolism / Q000473:pathology; D000070636:Rotator Cuff Injuries / Q000150:complications* / Q000276:immunology / Q000378:metabolism / Q000473:pathology; D020742:rhoA GTP-Binding Protein / Q000378:metabolism*
chemical_list: D008246:Lysophospholipids; C066737:RHOA protein, human; D020742:rhoA GTP-Binding Protein; C032881:lysophosphatidic acid
keywords: LPA; atrophy; fatty infiltration; macrophage; muscle; rotator cuff tear