Diaphragm Muscle Sarcopenia in Fischer 344 and Brown Norway Rats
Authors: Omar Tanya S , Elliott Jonathan E , Mantilla Carlos B , Sieck Gary C 
Published: November 2023

The risk for respiratory diseases is significantly increased in the elderly population (>65 years of age), which may be partially due to an inability to adequately clear the airways resulting from a progressive aging‐related atrophy and weakening (i.e., sarcopenia) of the diaphragm muscle (DIAm). In humans, reduced maximum inspiratory and transdiaphragmatic pressures suggest DIAm weakening, but muscle fiber atrophy has not been examined. In a National Institute on Aging (NIA) supported mouse model of aging (C57BL/6J strain), we recently showed that DIAm sarcopenia exists and affects non‐ventilatory functions (Greising et al., Exp Gerontol 48:881–887, 2013; Greising et al., Am J Physiol Lung Cell Mol Physiol 309:46–52, 2015). Importantly, rodent models such as this provide a valuable tool to explore the mechanisms underlying DIAm sarcopenia. Currently, the NIA also provides two inbred rat models for aging‐related research: the Fischer 344 (F344) and Brown Norway (BN) rat strains. The purpose of this study was to comprehensively examine whether sarcopenia also exists in the DIAm of F344 and BN rat strains provided by the NIA. Young (6 month, 100% survival) and old (24 month, 50% survival) F344 and young (6 month, 100% survival) and old (32 month, 50% survival) BN male, pathogen free, rats were obtained from the NIA rodent colony. In DIAm strips from the right midcostal region, measurements of contractility, contractile protein concentration, relative myosin heavy chain (MyHC) isoform expression, fiber type distribution and fiber cross‐sectional area (CSA) were obtained. Peak twitch specific force (Pt) was reduced by ~17% and ~14% in the aged F344 and BN rats, respectively. Additionally, maximal specific force (Po) was reduced by ~24% and ~12% in the aged F344 and BN rats, respectively. Thus, although there was significant aging‐related DIAm weakness in both rat strains, reductions in both Pt and Po were more pronounced in old F344 compared to BN rats. In F344 rats, aging also affected DIAm fiber type proportions with a significant increase in the proportion of type I fibers in old (45 ± 3%), compared to young (35 ± 3%) rats, with a concomitant decrease in the relative proportions of both type IIa fibres and type IIx and/or IIb fibers. In BN rats, DIAm fiber type proportions were not affected by aging. In both F344 and BN rats, the CSA of type I and IIa fibers were unchanged, whereas the CSA of type IIx and/or IIb DIAm fibers were reduced by ~20% in F344 rats and by ~15% is BN rats. Similar to DIAm weakness, the selective aging‐related atrophy of type IIx and/or IIb DIAm fibers was more pronounced in F344 rats. In conclusion, DIAm sarcopenia is clearly present in both F344 and BN rat strains, but more pronounced in the F344 strain. These results indicate that in addition to the C57BL/6J mouse model, the F344 rat strain is an appropriate model for research pertaining to DIAm sarcopenia.

Support or Funding Information

Support: National Institute of Health grants R01‐AG044615 (CBM & GCS) and T32‐HL105355 (JEE).