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. 2012 May 18;7(5):e34782. doi: 10.1371/journal.pone.0034782

Figure 7. Proposed model of gAd action in skeletal muscle.

Figure 7

After mucle damage, recruited/activated macrophages induce the proteolytic conversion of fAd to gAd, which in turn elicites p38 MAPK phosphorylation, thus participating in mSAT activation. Furthermore, gAd promotes mSAT migration towards the damaged site through the induction of a mesenchymal motily program. This mechanism provides the activation of the small GTPase Rac1, the de-novo expression of Snail and Twist transcription factors and the increased expression of MMP-2, mandatory to allow mesenchymal motility. After reaching the site of damage, gAd induces mSAT differentiation culminating in the formation of new myotubes and contributing to regeneration.