Acceleration Gould Aid Athletes and the Aging

摘要

One of the many effects of aging is loss of muscle mass, which contributes to disability in older people. To counter this, scientists at the Salk Institute for Biological Studies, La Jolla, Calif., are examining ways to accelerate the regeneration of muscle tissue, using a combination of molecular compounds that are commonly used in stem cell research. In a study published in Nature Communications, the investigators showed that using these compounds increased the regeneration of muscle cells in mice by activating the precursors of muscle cells, called myogenic progenitors. Although more work is needed before this approach can be applied in humans, the research provides insight into the underlying mechanisms related to muscle regeneration and growth and could one day help athletes as well as aging adults regenerate tissue more effectively. "Loss of these progenitors has been connected to age-related muscle degeneration," says senior author and biochemist Juan Carlos Izpisua Belmonte. "Our study uncovers specific factors that are able to accelerate muscle regeneration, as well as revealing the mechanism by which this occurred."