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JNK regulates muscle remodeling via myostatin/SMAD inhibition
Open accessAbstract
Skeletal muscle has a remarkable plasticity to adapt and remodel in response to environmental cues, such as physical exercise. Endurance exercise stimulates improvements in muscle oxidative capacity, while resistance exercise induces muscle growth. Here we show that the c-Jun N-terminal kinase (JNK) is a molecular switch that when active, stimulates muscle fibers to grow, resulting in increased muscle mass. Conversely, when muscle JNK activation is suppressed, an alternative remodeling program is initiated, resulting in smaller, more oxidative muscle fibers, and enhanced aerobic fitness. When muscle is exposed to mechanical stress, JNK initiates muscle growth via phosphorylation of the transcription factor, SMAD2, at specific linker region residues leading to inhibition of the growth suppressor, myostatin. In human skeletal muscle, this JNK/SMAD signaling axis is activated by resistance exercise, but not endurance exercise. We conclude that JNK acts as a key mediator of muscle remodeling during exercise via regulation of myostatin/SMAD signaling.
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![Fig. 3 SMAD-linker and JNK phosphorylation with exercise and muscle contraction in mice. a ICR mice underwent moderate intensity treadmill running for 15, 30, or 60 min and gastrocnemius muscles were collected. Control (rest) mice did not undergo treadmill running. Western blotting was used to determine exercise-induced signal transduction. Data from N = 3 mice/group are shown. b Electrodes were used to stimulate the lower hindlimb muscles from ICR mice [C; contracted]. The contralateral limb was unstimulated and acted as a control [B; basal]. Data from N = 3 mice/group are shown. c Both soleus muscles were rapidly removed from mice and attached to a force tranducer in oxygenated Kreb’s Henseleit Buffer. One muscle from each mouse was left at resting tension and acted as a basal control [Basal; B], while contralateral muscle was stretched for 10 min at a force of 0.12 N [Stretched; S]. N = 6 independent experiments were performed, and individual results from N = 3 are shown. pSMAD2L, linker region phosphorylated SMAD2; pJNK, phosphorylated (active) C-Jun N-terminal Kinase; pAMPK, phosphorylated (T172) AMP-activated protein kinase; pERK, phosphorylated extracellular signal regulated kinase; pP38, phosphorylated P38 Mitogen-Activated Protein Kinase; SMAD2, Total SMAD2. Images obtained using stain-free gel technology (Bio-Rad) that allows for total protein visualization and quantification are shown as a loading control (Loading)](/paper-figures/40fdd406eaaa441eafe25a6af5969577/jnk-regulates-muscle-remodeling-via-myostatin-smad-inhibition-figure-3.jpg)





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“Mechanistic insights from cell and animal studies suggest that when muscle is subjected to mechanical stress, it can downregulate MSTN expression via pathways such as JNK-mediated phosphorylation of transcription factor Smad2 [55,57].”
From Exercise-Induced Myokines in Obesity-Related Metabolic Disorders and Cardiovascular Protection: A Narrative Review (2026) · cites this paper as [57]
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“Exercise downregulates MSTN expression, with the magnitude of reduction depending on exercise mode, duration, and intensity.”
From Exercise-Induced Myokines in Obesity-Related Metabolic Disorders and Cardiovascular Protection: A Narrative Review (2026) · cites this paper as [57]
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Metadata
- Authors
- Lessard, S. J., MacDonald, T. L., Pathak, P., Han, M. S., Coffey, V. G., Edge, J., Rivas, D. A., Hirshman, M. F., Davis, R. J., & Goodyear, L. J.
- Affiliations
- Brigham and Women's Hospital (US)
- Joslin Diabetes Center (US)
- University of Massachusetts Chan Medical School (US)
- Bond University (AU)
- Massey University (NZ)
- Tufts University (US)
- Howard Hughes Medical Institute (US)
- Corresponding author
- Lessard, Sarah J.
- ORCID
- Venue
- Nature Communications
- Published
- 2018-08-02
- Volume
- 9
- Issue
- 1
- Pages
- 3030-3030
- ISSN
- 2041-1723 (ISSN-L)
- PMC
- PMC6072737
- OpenAlex
- W2884155806
- Cited by
- 119
- References
- 57
- Citations by year
- 2026: 10 · 2025: 14 · 2024: 16 · 2023: 14 · 2022: 17 · 2021: 14 · 2020: 21 · 2019: 12 · 2018: 1
- FWCI
- 4.27
- Type
- journal article
- Language
- en
- Open access
- gold
- doi.org
- Locations
- Nature Communications (publishedVersion, cc-by)
- Europe PMC (PubMed Central) (publishedVersion, cc-by)
- PubMed Central (publishedVersion, cc-by)
- PubMed (publishedVersion)
- eScholarship@UMassChan (submittedVersion, cc-by)
- Bond University Research Portal (Bond University) (submittedVersion, cc-by)
- RePEc: Research Papers in Economics (submittedVersion)
- RMIT Research Repository (RMIT University Library) (submittedVersion)
- DOAJ (DOAJ: Directory of Open Access Journals) (submittedVersion)
- DOAJ (DOAJ: Directory of Open Access Journals) (submittedVersion, cc-by-sa)
- Figshare (submittedVersion, cc-by)
- Funders
- American Heart Association (15SDG25560057)
- Topics
- Life Sciences › Biochemistry, Genetics and Molecular Biology › Molecular Biology › Muscle Physiology and Disorders
- Health Sciences › Nursing › Nutrition and Dietetics › Muscle metabolism and nutrition
- Life Sciences › Biochemistry, Genetics and Molecular Biology › Molecular Biology › TGF-β signaling in diseases
- Keywords
- c-Jun N-terminal kinase, skeletal muscle remodeling, myostatin, Smad2, resistance training, endurance exercise, muscle fiber growth, muscle oxidative capacity, cardiorespiratory fitness, mechanical stress, Smad2 phosphorylation, muscle mass
- MeSH terms
- Adult, Animals, Cell Nucleus, Enzyme Activation, Gene Expression Regulation, Humans, Hypertrophy, Mice, Inbred C57BL, Muscles, Phosphorylation, Physical Conditioning, Animal, Physical Endurance, Signal Transduction, Mice, Knockout, Muscle, Skeletal, Integrases, Protein Transport, Muscle Development, JNK Mitogen-Activated Protein Kinases, Smad Proteins, Myostatin, HEK293 Cells
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