Protection against sarcopenia
Scientists have discovered an internal resource in the body to combat muscle aging
Scientists have discovered an internal mechanism by which the body maintains muscle mass and strength, counteracting the aging process. The results are published in the journal Science Translational Medicine (Traoré et al., An embryonic CaVß1 isoform promotes muscle mass maintenance via GDF5 signaling in adult mouse).
With age, muscles lose their strength and mass. In medicine, this is called sarcopenia – an atrophic degenerative change in skeletal muscles.
Sarcopenia is a serious public health problem. It is associated with most injuries in people over 65 years of age.
French scientists from the Institute of Myology at the University of Paris have studied the internal molecular mechanisms that are activated in the body of mice in response to loss of muscle mass during prolonged immobilization, nerve damage or in the aging process.
Comparing the muscles of young and elderly mice, scientists found the protein CaVß1E, the expression of which in aging mice correlates with muscle mass. It turned out that this protein activates the GDF5 gene responsible for cell growth and differentiation.
Usually, the CaVß1E protein is expressed in the muscles and nervous system of the embryo, playing an important role in the development of the skeleton, joints and skeletal muscles.
For the first time, scientists observed its expression in the muscles of adult individuals in whom it activated GDF5 to counteract atrophy resulting from denervation – disruption of muscle connections with the central nervous system.
Researchers have experimentally shown that turning off the CaVß1E protein in mice leads to the inability of muscles to respond to weight loss. Conversely, overexpression of CaVß1E or GDF5 caused 78-week-old mice (equivalent to 70 years in humans) to stop muscle mass loss and restore muscle strength.
The authors found a similar hCaVß1E protein in the elderly. And just like in mice, a decrease in its expression correlates with a loss of muscle mass.
Scientists believe that their discovery will help develop therapeutic strategies against muscle aging, which will allow older people to stay active longer.
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