Increased mitochondrial Ca2+ contributes to health decline with age and Duchene muscular dystrophy in C. elegans

Sarcopenia is a geriatric syndrome characterized by an age-related decline in skeletal muscle mass and strength. Here, we show that suppression of mitochondrial calcium uniporter (MCU)-mediated Ca2+ influx into mitochondria in the body wall muscles of the nematode Caenorhabditis elegans improved the sarcopenic phenotypes, blunting movement and mitochondrial structural and functional decline with age. We found that normally aged muscle cells exhibited elevated resting mitochondrial Ca2+ levels and increased mitophagy to eliminate damaged mitochondria. Similar to aging muscle, we found that suppressing MCU function in muscular dystrophy improved movement via reducing elevated resting mitochondrial Ca2+ levels. Taken together, our results reveal that elevated resting mitochondrial Ca2+ levels contribute to muscle decline with age and muscular dystrophy. Further, modulation of MCU activity may act as a potential pharmacological target in various conditions involving muscle loss.

Automated summary

Sarcopenia, a syndrome characterized by age-related decline in skeletal muscle mass and strength, can be improved by suppressing mitochondrial calcium uniporter (MCU)-mediated Ca2+ influx into mitochondria. In this study, researchers found that aged muscle cells showed elevated resting mitochondrial Ca2+ levels and increased mitophagy, and suppressing MCU function improved movement in muscular dystrophy. These results suggest that elevated resting mitochondrial Ca2+ levels contribute to muscle decline with age and modulation of MCU activity could be an effective pharmacological target for muscle loss.