Passive repetitive stretching increases skeletal muscle mass and myofiber cross-sectional area in senescence-accelerated model mouse

Mechanical stimulation has benefits for muscle mass and function. Passive stretching is widely performed in clinical rehabilitation medicine. However, the hypertrophic effects of passive repetitive stretching on senescent skeletal muscles against muscle atrophy remain unknown. We used senescence-accelerated model SAM-P8 mice. The gastrocnemius muscle was passively repetitive stretched by manual ankle dorsiflexion for 15 min, 5 days a week for 2 weeks under deep anesthesia. We examined the effects of passive stretching on muscle mass, myofiber cross-sectional area, muscle fiber type and composition, satellite cell content, mRNA expression of the signaling pathways involved in muscle protein synthesis, muscle-specific ubiquitin ligases, and myogenic regulatory factors. The gastrocnemius muscle weight of the stretched side increased compared with that of the unstretched side. In addition to the increase in muscle mass, muscle fiber cross-sectional area of the stretched side was greater than that of the unstretched side. Passive repetitive stretching significantly increased the mRNA expression level of Akt, p70S6K, 4E-BP1, Myf5, myogenin, MuRF1. Passive repetitive stretching promoted skeletal muscle mass and myofiber cross-sectional area in SAM-P8 mice. These hypertrophic observations are attributable to the stretch-activated signaling pathways involved in protein turnover. These findings are applicable to clinical muscle strengthening and sarcopenia prevention.