Interestingly, treatment of the myotubes with the proteasome inhibitor MG132, which downregulates MuRF1 and atrogin-1 expression in skeletal muscle cells [32], restored the basal atrophy level of the COPD myotubes to a level similar to that observed with ascorbic acid. This evidence concerns the gene FBXO32 and chronic obstructive pulmonary disease.