2023-11-02 04:07:30
Muscle loss is inevitable in the aging process, and it gradually disappears at a rate of about 4% every 10 years after the age of 30. For elderly people with severe muscle degeneration, it becomes more difficult to take care of themselves, and the risk of falling also increases. If there is a way to slow down or reverse this phenomenon, it will be urgently needed by the aging society. Recently, Stanford University scientists explored the causes of muscle degeneration and discovered a key enzyme, named “Gerozyme”, which is expected to become the focus of fighting muscle degeneration.
Aging enzymes will break down the hormone “prostaglandin E2”. Prostaglandin E2 has the ability to activate the proliferation of muscle stem cells. It is an essential nutrient for maintaining muscle mass and promoting the repair of damaged muscles. However, too much aging enzymes will reduce prostaglandin E2, leading to muscle loss. .
The team had previously discovered that inhibiting the activity of aging enzymes in old mice restored atrophic muscles after one month and improved their physical strength. On the contrary, young mice increased their aging enzymes, lost muscles, and became increasingly weak. Experiments have proven that aging enzymes are very important in regulating muscle mass.
The normal function of muscles depends on normal nerve stimulation. Aging accompanied by neurodegeneration is also the reason for aggravating the decline of muscle strength and muscle loss. The team found that blocking the nerve conduction that controls muscles in mice significantly increased aging enzymes in skeletal muscle cells, showing why nerve damage accelerates the molecular mechanism of muscle degeneration. Regardless of acute or chronic neurodegeneration, as long as the activity of aging enzymes in mice is inhibited with drugs, motor nerves can be rejuvenated and the repair of nerve and muscle connections can be accelerated.
The study was published in the journal Science Translational Medicine in October.
Looking forward to the future, in addition to further in-depth research on molecular mechanisms, the team also participated in the establishment of Epirium Bio. The goal is to promote clinical trials to prove that drugs that inhibit aging enzymes have substantial effects on muscle degeneration caused by human aging and neurological diseases. They hope to start as soon as next year. clinical experiments.
(First image source: shutterstock)
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