Effects of ten-week 30% caloric restriction on metabolic health and skeletal muscles of adult and old C57BL/6J mice

Abstract

Caloric restriction (CR) can improve health, but the benefits are age-dependant. We studied effects of ten-week 30 % CR on skeletal muscles of adult (7-month old) and old (24-month old) C57BL/6 J mice. Old mice were heavier than adult mice (36.1 ± 4.0 g versus 32.9 ± 2.3 g, p < 0.05, respectively), but lost more weight (34.7 ± 6.0 % versus 23.9 ± 3.3 %, p < 0.001, respectively) during CR. Old mice did not differ from adult mice in extent of hind-limb muscle wasting or improvement in glucose tolerance after CR. Ageing and CR had an additive effect on increase in percentage of type 1 fibres in the soleus (SOL) muscle. CR was associated with greater atrophy of fast-twitch extensor digitorum longus (EDL) compared to slow-twitch SOL muscle. Old mice showed reduced gene expression of lysosomal markers, p62 and LC3B, while CR tended to upregulate the proteolysis genes. CR was also associated with increase in specific force of EDL muscle, but did not affect it in SOL muscle. In summary, ten-week CR induces only limited improvements in skeletal muscle function, but leads to significant muscle wasting and weakness in both adult and old mice.

Keywords: Caloric restriction; Glucose tolerance; Muscle fibre composition; Sarcopenia; Skeletal muscle.