MiR-125b-5p targeting TRAF6 relieves skeletal muscle atrophy induced by fasting or denervation

Skeletal muscle atrophy occurs in various conditions, including unloading, limb immobilization, fasting, denervation, and cachexia (1-3). An imbalance between anabolic and catabolic processes, i.e., protein degradation exceeding protein synthesis (4,5), results in a series of pathological changes, such as reduced cross-sectional area (CSA) of muscle fibers, myofibrillar sarcomeres disruption, myofibril degradation, disturbance of myotube formation, and fibrillation (6-8). Peripheral neuro-disconnection of skeletal muscle is the cause of denervated muscle atrophy (9), where an increased rate of proteolysis is believed to be mediated through the ubiquitin-proteasome system (UPS) and autophagy-lysosome system (ALS) (10-12)