title: A short-term statin treatment changes the contractile properties of fast-twitch skeletal muscles.
abstract: Cumulative evidence indicates that statins induce myotoxicity. However, the lack of understanding of how statins affect skeletal muscles at the structural, functional, and physiological levels hampers proper healthcare management. The purpose of the present study was to investigate the early after-effects of lovastatin on the slow-twitch soleus (Sol) and fast-twitch extensor digitorum longus (EDL) muscles.
  
  
  
  Adult C57BL/6 mice were orally administrated with placebo or lovastatin [50 mg/kg/d] for 28 days. At the end of the treatment, the isometric ex vivo contractile properties of the Sol and EDL muscles were measured. Subtetanic and tetanic contractions were assessed and contraction kinetics were recorded. The muscles were then frozen for immunohistochemical analyses. Data were analyzed by two-way ANOVA followed by an a posteriori Tukey's test.
  
  
  
  The short-term lovastatin treatment did not induce muscle mass loss, muscle fiber atrophy, or creatine kinase (CK) release. It had no functional impact on slow-twitch Sol muscles. However, subtetanic stimulations at 10 Hz provoked greater force production in fast-twitch EDL muscles. The treatment also decreased the maximal rate of force development (dP/dT) of twitch contractions and prolonged the half relaxation time (1/2RT) of tetanic contractions of EDL muscles.
  
  
  
  An early short-term statin treatment induced subtle but significant changes in some parameters of the contractile profile of EDL muscles, providing new insights into the selective initiation of statin-induced myopathy in fast-twitch muscles.
authors: Centre Hospitalier Universitaire de Québec, Centre de Recherche du Centre Hospitalier de l'Université Laval (CHUQ-CHUL), Axe Neurosciences, Université Laval, Quebec City, QC, G1V 4G2, Canada.
authors: Antoine Boulanger
authors: AB
authors: Piette
authors: Centre Hospitalier Universitaire de Québec, Centre de Recherche du Centre Hospitalier de l'Université Laval (CHUQ-CHUL), Axe Neurosciences, Université Laval, Quebec City, QC, G1V 4G2, Canada.
authors: Sébastien S
authors: SS
authors: Dufresne
authors: Centre Hospitalier Universitaire de Québec, Centre de Recherche du Centre Hospitalier de l'Université Laval (CHUQ-CHUL), Axe Neurosciences, Université Laval, Quebec City, QC, G1V 4G2, Canada. jerome.frenette@crchul.ulaval.ca.|Département de Réadaptation, Faculté de Médecine, Université Laval, Quebec City, QC, G1V 0A6, Canada. jerome.frenette@crchul.ulaval.ca.
authors: Jérôme
authors: J
authors: Frenette
mesh_terms: D000818:Animals; D003402:Creatine Kinase / Q000097:blood; D006801:Humans; D019161:Hydroxymethylglutaryl-CoA Reductase Inhibitors / Q000008:administration & dosage / Q000009:adverse effects* / Q000627:therapeutic use; D006937:Hypercholesterolemia / Q000188:drug therapy*; D007537:Isometric Contraction / Q000187:drug effects; D008148:Lovastatin / Q000008:administration & dosage / Q000009:adverse effects* / Q000627:therapeutic use; D008297:Male; D051379:Mice; D008810:Mice, Inbred C57BL; D009119:Muscle Contraction / Q000187:drug effects*; D018656:Muscle Fibers, Fast-Twitch / Q000187:drug effects*; D018657:Muscle Fibers, Slow-Twitch / Q000187:drug effects
chemical_list: D019161:Hydroxymethylglutaryl-CoA Reductase Inhibitors; D008148:Lovastatin; D003402:Creatine Kinase
keywords: Cholesterol; Contractile; Muscle; Myopathy; Statin