A history of omics discoveries reveals the correlates and mechanisms of loading-induced hypertrophy in adult skeletal muscle. 2024 CaMPS young investigator award invited review.

Abstract

Since the early 2000s, omics approaches to study skeletal muscle hypertrophy consequent to loading (e.g., resistance exercise) have expanded dramatically. Beginning with genomics and transcriptomics, there are now omics datasets from hypertrophying skeletal muscle spanning methylomics, proteomics, and phosphoproteomics, with further integration of single cell/nucleus-specific omics, among others. The purpose of this review is to explore the history of leveraging omics to enable understanding and discovery with respect to loading-induced hypertrophy in adult skeletal muscle. We elaborate on key historical and contemporary studies and findings, highlight specific examples where omics discoveries led to a mechanistic understanding of skeletal muscle growth, and provide background on established and emerging omic technologies. We focus on findings from human skeletal muscle tissue but also provide context and support from the rodent literature, including insights from gain- and loss-of-function experiments. Moving forward, the computational integration of omics datasets will provide unprecedented information and exciting new directions for studying how resistance exercise mediates skeletal muscle health. This information will help inform how to target key factors influencing muscle mass with a deep, comprehensive, and integrated multilayered understanding of their molecular regulation.