Study on the Mechanism of Low-Intensity Pulsed Ultrasound in Ameliorating Glucose Metabolism Through Attenuation of Skeletal Muscle Atrophy in Mice with Type 1 Diabetes

Diabetic skeletal muscle atrophy is one of the most serious complications among diabetes-related complications. LIPUS enhances muscle regeneration and repair in skeletal muscle injuries. However, whether LIPUS can improve skeletal muscle atrophy in mice with T1DM has not been studied. This study involves forty male C57BL/6 mice randomly divided into four groups: normal control group (NC), streptozocin (STZ)-induced T1DM mice (T1D), T1DM mice treated with LIPUS (DL), and T1DM mice treated with insulin (DI). The DL group was treated on the quadriceps of mice with LIPUS (1 MHz, 80 mW/cm2, 20 min/day) for 6 weeks. The results demonstrated that LIPUS significantly improved muscle function by increasing the cross-sectional area, mass, and strength of skeletal muscles. In addition, LIPUS significantly effectively lowered the blood glucose levels of T1DM mice. The knockout of myostatin (MSTN) (MSTN−/−) and knockin of MSTN (MSTN+/+) mice were employed to verify the underlying mechanism. The results indicated that LIPUS reduces blood glucose levels in T1DM mice by improving their muscle atrophy. This study demonstrated that LIPUS will become a novel therapy for the treatment of skeletal muscle atrophy caused by T1DM.