Journal: bioRxiv

Article Title: Intermittent AP-1 activation in muscles contributes to exercise-induced health benefits

doi: 10.64898/2026.01.05.696542

Figure Lengend Snippet: (A) Immunoblot of tibialis anterior (TA) muscles from 6-month-old adult mice after neonatal subcutaneous injection of AAV9.FLEX.A-Fos, a dominant-negative truncation of cFos (A-Fos group), or AAV9.FLEX.GFP control (Con). (B-D) Body weight, body size, and body composition by magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) at 4 months old. (E) Food intake. (F) Illustration of gait parameters, including stride length, stance width, and sway distance. (G–I) Quantification of stride, stance, and sway at 4 months. (J-K) Wire hang test and grip strength at 4 months old. (L-M) Treadmill speed profile and endurance test at 6 months. *p<0.05 by 2-way ANOVA and Bonferroni’s test, n = 7-8 mice. (N) Muscle mass at 6 months old. TA, tibialis anterior; SOL, soleus; EDL, extensor digitorum longus. (O-Q) Immunofluorescence staining of TA muscles from control and A-Fos mice with antibodies or reagents against myosin heavy chain (MHC) isoforms: MHCIIa (green), MHCIIx (black), MHCIIb (red), DAPI (blue), and laminin (white). n = 4–5 mice. (R-S) Glucose tolerance test and the area under the curve (AUC) of the glucose excursion in 3-month-old adult mice. n = 7-8 mice. *p<0.05 by 2-way ANOVA and Bonferroni’s test. Data are mean ± SEM.

Article Snippet: Sections were permeabilized with 0.3% Triton X-100 in PBS, blocked with 5% normal goat serum, and incubated overnight with primary antibodies against laminin (Sigma L9393), MHC-IIa (2F7; Developmental Studies Hybridoma Bank), and MHC-IIb (BF-F3; Deutsche Sammlung von Mikroorganismen und Zellkulturen) in blocking buffer.

Techniques: Western Blot, Muscles, Injection, Dominant Negative Mutation, Control, Magnetic Resonance Imaging, Immunofluorescence, Staining