A 3-Day Functional Unloading is Accompanied by an Increase in the TTN Gene Expression in the Rat Soleus Muscle without Changes in Alternative Splicing from Exon 50 to Exon 111

Abstract

Abstract—Changes in the expression of the titin gene and alternative splicing of titin pre-mRNA from exon 50 to exon 111 in rat soleus muscle were analyzed following 3-day functional unloading (the HS group). Using real-time RT-PCR, it was found that the expression level of the titin gene in the rat soleus muscle from the HS group was higher by 1.81 times (p ≤ 0.01, n = 6) than the control level (n = 7). It was shown that all studied exons of titin mRNA are present in rats soleus muscle from the two groups. Our results demonstrate that 3-day functional unloading is accompanied by an increase in the expression of the titin gene in rat soleus without changes in alternative splicing from exon 50 to exon 111.