  Age-related muscle decline, a condition referred to as sarcopenia and defined
as loss in muscle mass and muscle strength over time, is one of the most
pervasive problems of the elderly, such that significant declines in strength
and mobility affects essentially every old person We have found that ageing C.
elegans body wall muscle undergoes a process remarkably reminiscent of human
sarcopenia. Both have mid-life onset and are characterized by progressive loss
of sarcomeres and cytoplasmic volume; both are associated with locomotory
decline. To extend understanding of this fundamental problem, I surveyed
expression of all known muscle related genes to describe a profile of
transcriptional changes in muscle that transpires during adult life and ageing.
Importantly, the intersection of this dataset with that from ageing flies and
some human studies can suggest conserved genes that might impact the process
most strongly. Hypotheses I formulate will be used to drive experiments at the
bench and perhaps to focus attention for human therapies.
