PT - JOURNAL ARTICLE AU - Alessio Reggio AU - Marco Rosina AU - Natalie Krahmer AU - Alessandro Palma AU - Lucia Lisa Petrilli AU - Giuliano Maiolatesi AU - Giorgia Massacci AU - Illari Salvatori AU - Cristiana Valle AU - Stefano Testa AU - Cesare Gargioli AU - Claudia Fuoco AU - Luisa Castagnoli AU - Gianni Cesareni AU - Francesca Sacco TI - Metabolic reprogramming of fibro/adipogenic progenitors facilitates muscle regeneration AID - 10.26508/lsa.202000660 DP - 2020 Mar 01 TA - Life Science Alliance PG - e202000646 VI - 3 IP - 3 4099 - https://www.life-science-alliance.org/content/3/3/e202000646.short 4100 - https://www.life-science-alliance.org/content/3/3/e202000646.full SO - Life Sci. Alliance2020 Mar 01; 3 AB - In Duchenne muscular dystrophy (DMD), the absence of the dystrophin protein causes a variety of poorly understood secondary effects. Notably, muscle fibers of dystrophic individuals are characterized by mitochondrial dysfunctions, as revealed by a reduced ATP production rate and by defective oxidative phosphorylation. Here, we show that in a mouse model of DMD (mdx), fibro/adipogenic progenitors (FAPs) are characterized by a dysfunctional mitochondrial metabolism which correlates with increased adipogenic potential. Using high-sensitivity mass spectrometry–based proteomics, we report that a short-term high-fat diet (HFD) reprograms dystrophic FAP metabolism in vivo. By combining our proteomic dataset with a literature-derived signaling network, we revealed that HFD modulates the β-catenin–follistatin axis. These changes are accompanied by significant amelioration of the histological phenotype in dystrophic mice. Transplantation of purified FAPs from HFD-fed mice into the muscles of dystrophic recipients demonstrates that modulation of FAP metabolism can be functional to ameliorate the dystrophic phenotype. Our study supports metabolic reprogramming of muscle interstitial progenitor cells as a novel approach to alleviate some of the adverse outcomes of DMD.