Apoptosis in skeletal muscle and its relevance to atrophy

Figure 1 Pathways involved in apoptosis in skeletal muscle. Caspase-dependent and -independent pathways are likely involved in apoptotic nuclear loss during atrophy in skeletal muscle. Caspase-3 activation and subsequent apoptosis occurs through the release of cytochrome-c from mitochondria in response to changes in the ratio of pro- and anti-apoptotic members of the Bcl-2 family of proteins, or through the activation of initiator caspases, such as caspase-8 or -12. Caspase-independent pathways such as the release of EndoG and/or AIF may be more important in skeletal muscle as they directly induce DNA fragmentation.