title: Mitofusin-2 prevents skeletal muscle wasting in cancer cachexia.
abstract: Cancer cachexia remains a leading cause of morbidity and mortality worldwide, despite extensive research and clinical trials. The prominent clinical feature of cancer cachexia is the continuous loss of skeletal muscle that cannot be fully reversed by conventional nutritional support, and that leads to progressive functional impairment. The mechanism underlying muscle loss in patients with cachexia is poorly understood. The present study analyzed 21 cancer patients with or without cachexia, and demonstrated that mitofusin-2 (Mfn2) was downregulated in the rectus abdominis of patients with cachexia, which was associated with body weight loss.In vitrocell experiments indicated that loss of Mfn2 was associated with atrophy of the C2C12 mouse myoblast cell line. Furthermore,in vivoanimal experiments demonstrated that cachexia decreased gastrocnemius muscle mass and Mfn2 expression, and overexpression of Mfn2 in gastrocnemius muscle was able to partially attenuate cachexia-induced gastrocnemius muscle loss. The results of the present study suggested that Mfn2 is involved in cachexia-induced muscle loss and may serve as a potential target for therapy of cachexia.
authors.affiliation: Department of Surgery, Zhongshan Hospital, Shanghai Medical College of Fudan University, Shanghai 200032, P.R. China.
authors.forename: Qiu-Lei
authors.initials: QL
authors.lastname: Xi
authors.affiliation: Department of Surgery, Zhongshan Hospital, Shanghai Medical College of Fudan University, Shanghai 200032, P.R. China.
authors.forename: Bo
authors.initials: B
authors.lastname: Zhang
authors.affiliation: Department of Surgery, Zhongshan Hospital, Shanghai Medical College of Fudan University, Shanghai 200032, P.R. China.
authors.forename: Yi
authors.initials: Y
authors.lastname: Jiang
authors.affiliation: Key Laboratory of Food Safety Research, The Institute for Nutritional Sciences, Shanghai Institutes for Biological Sciences, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Shanghai 200031, P.R. China.
authors.forename: Hai-Sheng
authors.initials: HS
authors.lastname: Zhang
authors.affiliation: Department of Surgery, Zhongshan Hospital, Shanghai Medical College of Fudan University, Shanghai 200032, P.R. China.
authors.forename: Qing-Yang
authors.initials: QY
authors.lastname: Meng
authors.affiliation: Key Laboratory of Food Safety Research, The Institute for Nutritional Sciences, Shanghai Institutes for Biological Sciences, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Shanghai 200031, P.R. China.
authors.forename: Ying
authors.initials: Y
authors.lastname: Chen
authors.affiliation: Department of Surgery, Zhongshan Hospital, Shanghai Medical College of Fudan University, Shanghai 200032, P.R. China.
authors.forename: Yu-Song
authors.initials: YS
authors.lastname: Han
authors.affiliation: Department of Surgery, Zhongshan Hospital, Shanghai Medical College of Fudan University, Shanghai 200032, P.R. China.
authors.forename: Qiu-Lin
authors.initials: QL
authors.lastname: Zhuang
authors.affiliation: Department of Surgery, Zhongshan Hospital, Shanghai Medical College of Fudan University, Shanghai 200032, P.R. China.
authors.forename: Jun
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Han
authors.affiliation: Department of Surgery, Zhongshan Hospital, Shanghai Medical College of Fudan University, Shanghai 200032, P.R. China.
authors.forename: Hai-Yu
authors.initials: HY
authors.lastname: Wang
authors.affiliation: Key Laboratory of Food Safety Research, The Institute for Nutritional Sciences, Shanghai Institutes for Biological Sciences, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Shanghai 200031, P.R. China.
authors.forename: Jing
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Fang
authors.affiliation: Department of Surgery, Zhongshan Hospital, Shanghai Medical College of Fudan University, Shanghai 200032, P.R. China.
authors.forename: Guo-Hao
authors.initials: GH
authors.lastname: Wu
keywords: cachexia; cancer; mitofusin-2; muscle wasting