Chronic activation of a key exercise signal transducer, CaMKII, drives skeletal muscle aging and sarcopenia.

ABSTRACT: Sarcopenia, the age-related loss of muscle strength and mass, contributes to adverse health outcomes in older adults. While exercise mitigates sarcopenia by transiently activating calcium (Ca²⁺)- and reactive oxygen species (ROS)-dependent signaling pathways that enhance muscle performance and adaptation, these same signals become chronically elevated in aged skeletal muscle and promote functional decline. Ca²⁺/calmodulin-dependent protein kinase II (CaMKII) is a key transducer of both Ca²⁺ and ROS signals during exercise. Here we show that CaMKII is chronically activated in aged muscles, promoting muscle dysfunction. Muscle-specific expression of a constitutively active CaMKII construct in young mice recapitulates features of aging muscles, including impai

SUBMITTER: Bene MR 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC12324419 | biostudies-literature | 2025 Aug

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature