Effects of ascorbic acid in the myogenesis of skeletal muscle of pacu (Piaractus mesopotamicus)

Abstract

The pacu (Piaractus mesopotamicus) is a fish species which has several economically interesting features for aquaculture, with high commercial value and object of an intense research to improve its production. The skeletal muscle is the most abundant tissue in teleost fish, representing up to 65% of the total body mass for some species. Fast muscle comprises the bulk of the fillet and corresponds to the commercial part of the fish. The skeletal muscle growth involves the myoblasts, which through proliferation, migration and differentiation promote the muscle hyperplasia and hypetrophy. More and more studies use the myoblast cell culture from fish as a tool to evaluate the muscle growth regulation, because it recapitulates the steps of myogenesis. Besides, the myoblast cell culture can be manipulated to evaluate the role of nutrients and growth factors in a controlled environment. The muscle growth is a multifactorial process regulated by transcriptional factors, hormones, cytokines and nutrients. Among them we highlight the ascorbic acid an essential vitamin in fish diet and whose lack leads to diseases, anatomical deformity and impairment of the development. The ascorbic acid acts as an antioxidant and also in collagen synthesis to structure and maintenance of connective tissue and osteogenesis. However, it is unclear whether ascorbic acid can directly influence myogenesis of skeletal muscle of fish and, consequently, contribute to muscle growth of the animal. Our hypothesis is that ascorbic acid contributes to increase myoblast proliferation and migration during myogenesis and muscle growth pacu. In this work we intend to evaluate the role of ascorbic acid on the proliferation and migration of myoblasts from pacus in primary cell cultures. Our study will contribute to a better understanding of the myogenesis regulation in fish, allowing the development of a theoretic framework that may help to improve muscle growth.