Impaired mitochondrial degradation by autophagy in the skeletal muscle of the aged female interleukin 10 null mouse

Mitochondrial dysfunction, chronic inflammation and muscle aging are closely linked. Mitochondrial clearance is a process to dampen inflammation and is a critical pre-requisite to mitobiogenesis. The combined effect of aging and chronic inflammation on mitochondrial degradation by autophagy is understudied. In interleukin 10 null mouse (IL-10tm/tm), a rodent model of chronic inflammation, we studied the effects of aging and inflammation on mitochondrial clearance. We show that aging in IL-10tm/tm is associated with reduced skeletal muscle mitochondrial death signaling and altered formation of autophagosomes, compared to age-matched C57BL/6 controls. Moreover, skeletal muscles of old IL-10tm/tm mice have the highest levels of damaged mitochondria with disrupted mitochondrial ultrastructure and autophagosomes compared to all other groups. These observations highlight the interface between chronic inflammation and aging on altered mitochondrial biology in skeletal muscles.