Apoptosis As Cause Of Sarcopenia: Hormonal Regulation

Abstract

The muscle mass declines with age, affecting the independence in theelderly. This process known as sarcopenia and the acceleration of myocytes lossthrough apoptosis might signify the main causative.Skeletal muscle tissue increases its size and shows a notable capacity to adapt to injury,due the existence of an undifferentiated group of myogenic-specific precursor cells,called satellite cells. The knowledge of mechanism that driven the apoptosis in satellitecells represents an important base to understand the etiology of sarcopenia.This chapter centers on the potential impact that the estrogen- and testosteroneregulationof satellite cell function has in elderly skeletal muscle, highlighting in therole that both steroids have on apoptotic signaling in myoblasts.