Magnesium Deficiency Alters Expression of Genes Critical for Muscle Magnesium Homeostasis and Physiology in Mice.

Abstract

Chronic Mgdeficiency is the underlying cause of a broad range of health dysfunctions. As 25% of body Mgis located in the skeletal muscle, Mgtransport and homeostasis systems (MgTHs) in the muscle are critical for whole-body Mghomeostasis. In the present study, we assessed whether Mgdeficiency alters muscle fiber characteristics and major pathways regulating muscle physiology. C57BL/6J mice received either a control, mildly, or severely Mg-deficient diet (0.1%; 0.01%; and 0.003% Mgwt/wt, respectively) for 14 days. Mgdeficiency slightly decreased body weight gain and muscle Mgconcentrations but was not associated with detectable variations in gastrocnemius muscle weight, fiber morphometry, and capillarization. Nonetheless, muscles exhibited decreased expression of several MgTHs (,,, and). Moreover, TaqMan low-density array (TLDA) analyses further revealed that, before the emergence of major muscle dysfunctions, even a mild Mgdeficiency was sufficient to alter the expression of genes critical for muscle physiology, including energy metabolism, muscle regeneration, proteostasis, mitochondrial dynamics, and excitation-contraction coupling.