{"status":"ok","message-type":"work","message-version":"1.0.0","message":{"indexed":{"date-parts":[[2026,10,1]],"date-time":"2026-10-01T07:12:43Z","timestamp":1790838763589,"version":"4.1.0"},"reference-count":41,"publisher":"MDPI AG","issue":"19","license":[{"start":{"date-parts":[[2021,9,23]],"date-time":"2021-09-23T00:00:00Z","timestamp":1632355200000},"content-version":"vor","delay-in-days":0,"URL":"https:\/\/creativecommons.org\/licenses\/by\/4.0\/"}],"funder":[{"DOI":"10.13039\/501100001691","name":"Japan Society for the Promotion of Science","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","award":["JP19H04063"],"award-info":[{"award-number":["JP19H04063"]}],"id":[{"id":"10.13039\/501100001691","id-type":"DOI","asserted-by":"publisher"}]},{"name":"an Intramural Research Grant for Neurological and Psychiatric Disorders of NCNP","award":["28-6"],"award-info":[{"award-number":["28-6"]}]}],"content-domain":{"domain":[],"crossmark-restriction":false},"short-container-title":["IJMS"],"abstract":"<jats:p>Skeletal muscle is a vital organ for a healthy life, but its mass and function decline with aging, resulting in a condition termed sarcopenia. The etiology of sarcopenia remains unclear. We recently demonstrated that interstitial mesenchymal progenitors are essential for homeostatic muscle maintenance, and a diminished expression of the mesenchymal-specific gene Bmp3b is associated with sarcopenia. Here, we assessed the protective function of Bmp3b against sarcopenia by generating conditional transgenic (Tg) mice that enable a forced expression of Bmp3b specifically in mesenchymal progenitors. The mice were grown until they reached the geriatric stage, and the age-related muscle phenotypes were examined. The Tg mice had significantly heavier muscles compared to control mice, and the type IIB myofiber cross-sectional areas were preserved in Tg mice. The composition of the myofiber types did not differ between the genotypes. The Tg mice showed a decreasing trend of fibrosis, but the degree of fat infiltration was as low as that in the control mice. Finally, we observed the preservation of innervated neuromuscular junctions (NMJs) in the Tg muscle in contrast to the control muscle, where the NMJ degeneration was conspicuous. Thus, our results indicate that the transgenic expression of Bmp3b in mesenchymal progenitors alleviates age-related muscle deterioration. Collectively, this study strengthens the beneficial role of mesenchymal Bmp3b against sarcopenia and suggests that preserving the youthfulness of mesenchymal progenitors may be an effective means of combating sarcopenia.<\/jats:p>","DOI":"10.3390\/ijms221910246","type":"journal-article","created":{"date-parts":[[2021,9,23]],"date-time":"2021-09-23T09:59:15Z","timestamp":1632391155000},"page":"10246","update-policy":"https:\/\/doi.org\/10.3390\/mdpi_crossmark_policy","source":"Crossref","is-referenced-by-count":13,"title":["Transgenic Expression of Bmp3b in Mesenchymal Progenitors Mitigates Age-Related Muscle Mass Loss and Neuromuscular Junction Degeneration"],"prefix":"10.3390","volume":"22","author":[{"given":"Tamaki","family":"Kurosawa","sequence":"first","affiliation":[{"name":"Muscle Aging and Regenerative Medicine, Tokyo Metropolitan Institute of Gerontology, 35-2 Sakae-cho, Itabashi, Tokyo 173-0015, Japan"},{"name":"Laboratory of Veterinary Pharmacology, Department of Veterinary Medical Sciences, Graduate School of Agriculture and Life Sciences, Tokyo University, 1-1-1 Yayoi, Bunkyo-ku, Tokyo 113-8657, Japan"}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"given":"Keitaro","family":"Minato","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Muscle Aging and Regenerative Medicine, Tokyo Metropolitan Institute of Gerontology, 35-2 Sakae-cho, Itabashi, Tokyo 173-0015, Japan"},{"name":"Department of Regenerative and Transplant Medicine, Division of Orthopedic Surgery, Graduate School of Medical and Dental Sciences, Niigata University, 1-757 Asahimachi-Dori, Tyuo-Ku, Niigata 951-8510, Japan"}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"given":"Madoka","family":"Ikemoto-Uezumi","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Muscle Aging and Regenerative Medicine, Tokyo Metropolitan Institute of Gerontology, 35-2 Sakae-cho, Itabashi, Tokyo 173-0015, Japan"}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"ORCID":"https:\/\/orcid.org\/0000-0003-4740-8858","authenticated-orcid":false,"given":"Jun","family":"Hino","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Department of Biochemistry, National Cerebral and Cardiovascular Center Research Institute, 6-1 Kishibe-Shimmachi, Suita 564-8565, Japan"}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"ORCID":"https:\/\/orcid.org\/0000-0002-3983-5756","authenticated-orcid":false,"given":"Kunihiro","family":"Tsuchida","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Division for Therapies against Intractable Diseases, Institute for Comprehensive Medical Science, Fujita Health University, 1-98 Dengakugakubo, Kutsukake-cho, Toyoake 470-1192, Japan"}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"ORCID":"https:\/\/orcid.org\/0000-0003-4294-0116","authenticated-orcid":false,"given":"Akiyoshi","family":"Uezumi","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Muscle Aging and Regenerative Medicine, Tokyo Metropolitan Institute of Gerontology, 35-2 Sakae-cho, Itabashi, Tokyo 173-0015, Japan"}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]}],"member":"1968","published-online":{"date-parts":[[2021,9,23]]},"reference":[{"key":"ref_1","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"30","DOI":"10.1002\/jcsm.12651","article-title":"Sarcopenia: Prevalence, associated factors, and the risk of mortality and disability in Japanese older adults","volume":"12","author":"Kitamura","year":"2021","journal-title":"J. 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