The Effect of Ethanol on Skeletal Muscle Endocrine Function and the Novel Myokines Myonectin and Irisin

• Main Author: Hagood, Kendra
• Format: Others
• Language: English
• Published: Digital Commons @ East Tennessee State University 2018
• Subjects: ethanol; myonectin; irisin; myokine; FNDC5; skeletal muscle; Endocrinology
• Online Access: https://dc.etsu.edu/etd/3419; https://dc.etsu.edu/cgi/viewcontent.cgi?article=4849&context=etd

Excessive alcohol consumption is a leading cause of death and disability globally and can lead to diseases such as alcoholic skeletal myopathy. Skeletal muscle is the largest organ in the human body and functions to regulate whole-body energy homeostasis. Additionally, skeletal muscle can function as an endocrine organ via secretion of myokines. Two myokines, myonectin and irisin, present a wide range of effects upon metabolism, inflammation, and tissue survival- signaling. We hypothesized that chronic alcohol consumption will result in reduced circulating myonectin and irisin levels. Mice were fed an ethanol-containing or control diet for 10 days or 6 weeks. Tissues and serum were collected from mice and immunoblotting was used to quantify myonectin and irisin levels. Our data demonstrated that neither a 10 day nor 6-week ethanol diet was effective in altering myonectin levels, whereas irisin was undetectable. Therefore, we conclude that these myokines are not affected by alcohol consumption.