Fig. 1: Murine model of sarcopenia presented with high level of serum TNF-α and TNF-α overexpression in gastrocnemius muscle (GM) that were associated with loss of skeletal muscle mass and grip strength.
From: TNF-α contributes to sarcopenia through caspase-8/caspase-3/GSDME-mediated pyroptosis
A–D Grip strength, relative grip strength, GM mass, gastrocnemius muscle index (GMI), body weight and cross-sectional area (CSA) of GM fibers in mice at different ages. E HE staining of GM in mice at different ages. Red arrow indicates cellular vacuolation of GM fibers in mice aged 60 weeks, black arrow indicates cellular vacuolation of GM fibers in mice aged 88 weeks, and green arrow indicates centralized nucleus of GM cells in mice aged 88 weeks. Scale bar: 50 μm. F transmission electron microscope (TEM) micrographs of GM in mice aged 20 weeks and 88 weeks. Black arrows indicate mitochondria, white arrows indicate lipid droplets, black triangles indicate cell membrane, white triangle indicates myofilament lysis, asterisks indicate nucleus, diamond indicates multivesicular bodies. Scale bar: 1.0 μm. G immunoblot of TNF-α expression in GM of mice at different ages. The relative expression level of TNF-α normalized to GAPDH based on densitometric analysis of immunoblot. H ELISA assay of serum TNF-α in mice at different ages. I correlation analysis of the relative expression level of TNF-α with relative grip strength and GMI in mice. J correlation analysis of serum TNF-α level with relative grip strength and GMI in mice. Data are expressed as mean ± SD. *P < 0.05, **P < 0.01, ***P < 0.001, ns: no significance. A–F Mice aged 20 weeks: n = 10 mice, mice aged 60 weeks: n = 9 mice, mice aged 88 weeks: n = 14 mice. G–J, n = 8 mice per group.
