UCLA

Skeletal muscle function can be compromised by injury or trauma. Muscle regeneration requires the activation and proliferation of satellite cells. The anti-aging protein Klotho (KL) has been shown to enhance regeneration of dystrophic muscle by stimulating satellite cell production. However, it is not known whether exogenous KL treatment can be used to improve muscle regeneration after acute injury. Using C57BL/6 mice that received intraperitoneal injections of recombinant KL prior to muscle injury and throughout recovery, we found that KL did not affect muscle regeneration or expression of inflammatory and fibrogenic transcripts. We also tested whether KL affected Wnt signaling in myogenic cells. Our investigation confirms that KL is an antagonist of Wnt signaling. Although our findings do not support the therapeutic use of KL in young muscle after acute injury, our results suggest that KL modulates Wnt signaling and therefore could be therapeutic in conditions of aberrant Wnt-signaling in muscle.