Figure 6.

Wnt7a Counteracts Myotube Atrophy through the AKT/mTOR Pathway in Human Primary Myotubes

(A) Experimental schematic outlining induction of myotube atrophy and treatment with Wnt7a and rapamycin using human primary myoblasts. (B) Counteracting myotube atrophy caused by conditioned medium from C26 colon carcinoma cells measured as the maximal myotube diameter is dependent on the AKT/mTOR pathway, as shown by addition of the mTOR inhibitor rapamycin. (C) Counteracting myotube atrophy caused by conditioned medium from LL/2 lung carcinoma cells measured as the maximal myotube diameter is dependent on the AKT/mTOR pathway, as shown by addition of the mTOR inhibitor rapamycin. (D) Representative images of myotubes from control conditions, after induction of myotube atrophy by C26 or LL/2 cell conditioned medium with and without Wnt7a treatment and/or addition of rapamycin. Images show myosin heavy chain (in green), myogenin (in red), and DAPI (in blue). Scale bars, 50 μm. n = 3. Error bars represent SEM. *p < 0.05, **p < 0.01.