Science advancesMay 8, 2026

Drp1 controls muscle size and mitochondrial health through the Erk1/2-Nur77 signaling pathway

Longevity & Aging Weekly Brief ↗PubMed ↗DOI ↗

Updated Jun 27, 2026

Abstract

Essence

Drp1 loss appears to drive skeletal muscle atrophy through impaired mitochondrial respiration and reduced Erk1/2-Nur77 signaling.

Evidence

This preclinical muscle model study tested acute skeletal-muscle Drp1 deletion, Drp1-Parkin dual deletion, and clenbuterol-mediated pathway rescue.

Caveat

The therapeutic implication is limited to experimental models, and clenbuterol rescue does not establish clinical benefit in human muscle degeneration.

Simplified

The maintenance of skeletal muscle mass relies on mitochondrial quality control, including balanced dynamics and mitophagy. Dynamin-related protein 1 (Drp1), a central mediator of mitochondrial fission, is essential for these processes, yet its role in muscle mass regulation remains incompletely defined. Here, we show that acute Drp1 deletion in the skeletal muscle increases Parkin-mediated mitochondrial degradation, reduces mitochondrial DNA (mtDNA) content, and leads to severe muscle atrophy. Although dual deletion of Drp1 and Parkin restores mtDNA content, muscle loss persists. Mechanistically, Drp1 loss impairs mitochondrial respiratory chain activity, suppressing extracellular signal-regulated kinase 1/2 (Erk1/2) signaling and down-regulating the nuclear receptor subfamily 4 group A member 1 (Nur77). Pharmacologic β2-adrenergic receptor activation with clenbuterol reactivated Erk1/2, restored Nur77 expression, and rescued muscle atrophy. These findings define a Drp1-Erk1/2-Nur77 signaling axis linking mitochondrial integrity to skeletal muscle mass and identify a potential therapeutic target for muscle degeneration in mitochondrial and metabolic diseases.