The muscle mass declines with age, affecting the independence in the
elderly. This process known as sarcopenia and the acceleration of myocytes loss
through apoptosis might signify the main causative.
Skeletal muscle tissue increases its size and shows a notable capacity to adapt to injury,
due the existence of an undifferentiated group of myogenic-specific precursor cells,
called satellite cells. The knowledge of mechanism that driven the apoptosis in satellite
cells represents an important base to understand the etiology of sarcopenia.
This chapter centers on the potential impact that the estrogen- and testosteroneregulation
of satellite cell function has in elderly skeletal muscle, highlighting in the
role that both steroids have on apoptotic signaling in myoblasts.
Keywords: Apoptosis Pathways, Bcl-2 Family, Caspases, Muscle Structure,
Skeletal Muscle.
