Scientists have discovered a gene, activated by exercise, that is responsible for building muscle strength. The finding also opens up the possibility of treatments that offer some of the health benefits even without exercise.
It’s no secret that exercise strengthens muscles and improves overall health, but the specific mechanisms by which it works are complex and can be difficult to unravel. For the new study, researchers from the Universities of Melbourne and Copenhagen investigated molecular signaling responses in muscles before, during and after different types of exercise.
“To identify how genes and proteins are activated during and after different exercises, we performed an analysis of human skeletal muscle from a cross-intervention of endurance, sprint, and endurance exercise,” said lead author Dr. Benjamin Parker. of the studio.
From this, the team looked at how signaling responses in muscles changed after different types of exercise in an individual person, as well as how consistent those changes were across a range of people. From this, they identified a previously uncharacterized gene called C18ORF25, which was among the most frequently activated.
When the team engineered mice to lack this gene, the animals developed smaller skeletal muscle fibers, which translated into weaker muscles and reduced exercise performance. Conversely, when they increased gene activity, the animals’ muscles grew stronger.
There’s always the dream of an “exercise pill” that can deliver the health benefits without the hard work, but the researchers say the study could have a broader range of potential applications.
“The identification of this gene may affect how we manage healthy aging, muscle wasting diseases, sports science, and even cattle and meat production,” said Dr. Parker. “This is because promoting optimal muscle function is one of the best predictors of overall health. We know that exercise can prevent and treat chronic diseases such as diabetes, cardiovascular disease, and many types of cancer. Now, we hope that by better understanding how different types of exercise elicit these health-promoting effects at the molecular level, the field can work to make new and better treatment options available.”
The research was published in the journal Cellular metabolism.
Font: University of Melbourne
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