Researchers have discovered a mechanism in our cells that is essential for energy production in the muscles. This discovery could lead to new treatments for muscle diseases. In addition, research shows that the body’s muscles sense mechanical pressure, which could alleviate muscle stiffness.
Exercise Can Activate Alternative Processes that Restore the Energy Capacity of the Muscle
Although it is well known that exercise is good for us, many of the underlying molecular mechanisms are still unknown. Now, researchers at the University of Copenhagen have made new findings that will help us understand the health effects of exercise – and perhaps pave the way for new treatments for many muscle diseases. “We have identified a new, important mechanism for muscle cell energy production and shown that it is activated by exercise – regardless of age, gender and health status,” says Associate Professor Lykke Sylow from the Department of Biomedical Sciences, the corresponding author of the new study.
In the study, the researchers show that a particular protein plays a key role in energy production in the cells’ energy factory, the mitochondria. And they were surprised to find that through fitness training (so-called aerobic exercise) it is actually possible to bypass the role of this protein in energy production. Their research shows that exercise can counteract genetic errors in muscular energy production. In the absence of this protein, exercise can activate alternative processes that restore the muscle’s energy capacity and bypass the genetic error.
An Opportunity to Develop Innovative Treatments
The researchers do not yet know exactly how exercise bypasses this process, but their discovery could pave the way for new treatments for a range of diseases that affect the muscles. Their discovery could make it possible to develop a drug that mimics the health benefits of exercise in people who are unable to exercise. According to the researchers, this opens up the possibility of developing new treatments for more than 200 different diseases linked to defects in muscle energy production. These include rare mitochondrial genetic diseases as well as more common diseases such as diabetes, cancer, cardiovascular diseases and neurodegenerative diseases, in which reduced muscle function is associated with increased mortality.
While loss of muscle mass is normal, it can be potentially fatal for some patient groups, including cancer patients. When cancer patients lose muscle mass, they may not be able to receive the best possible treatment. It may prevent them from receiving the optimal chemotherapy to kill a tumor because the treatment is too toxic for patients who do not have enough muscle mass. There is therefore a close link between muscle mass and physical activity on the one hand and the chance of surviving cancer on the other.
Improving Quality of Life
The protein that is of crucial importance for the newly discovered mitochondrial mechanism is known as SLIRP. In the study, the researchers also show that SLIRP stabilizes genes in the mitochondria. Among other things, SLIRP is responsible for translating so-called mRNA into proteins, which are essential for healthy, energy-producing mitochondria. However, if SLIRP is missing, the mitochondria are damaged and can no longer produce sufficient energy. This is the process that exercise can prevent.
The new knowledge brings researchers one step closer to developing drugs that target the mitochondria and mimic some of the health benefits of exercise. And that could make a big difference. It would be great if some of this muscle magic could be achieved without exercise. According to the researchers, this could really improve the quality of life and health of many patients.
Measuring Pressure Through Muscles is a Promising New Target for Treatments
Another study, conducted by Umeå University in Sweden, shows that the body’s muscles sense mechanical pressure. This new discovery has important implications for exercise neurology and could improve the design of training and rehabilitation interventions to relieve muscle soreness. The results provide an important piece of the puzzle in understanding the information the nervous system receives from the muscles.
The study focused on muscle spindles, which are the main sensory receptors for proprioception. This is the “hidden sixth sense” for the mechanical state of the body and is crucial for proper movement control. In the study, the researchers applied different levels of pressure to the forearm muscles of awake volunteers and recorded the signals from the nerve fibers of the muscle spindles located in the pressed muscle. When the participants’ hands were still, the muscle spindles responded strongly to the muscle pressure, indicating that pressure alone is a sufficient stimulus for these receptors. The study also showed that when the hand was moving, the pressure significantly increased the response of the spindles to muscle stretch. This finding challenges the common understanding that muscle spindles only respond to stretching.
These discoveries could lead to significant advances in the treatment of neuromuscular diseases, the optimization of athletic training and the refinement of physiotherapy techniques. For example, a better understanding of how muscle spindles detect pressure could provide new methods for treating muscle spasms or improving muscle recovery after injury. The researchers also found that when they suddenly removed the pressure on the muscles, the activity of the spindles quickly dropped below normal levels. Since spindle signals reflexively increase muscle contraction and stiffness, weaker spindle signals are usually associated with less muscle stiffness. Based on this finding, the researchers proposed the “triple-eight” technique for rapid relief of muscle stiffness. The triple-eight technique involves using a small object or finger to apply light to moderate pressure to a sore or stiff muscle area for eight seconds, releasing the pressure for eight seconds and then applying it again for eight seconds. The relaxed muscle is then slowly stretched. According to the researchers, anyone can use this technique to quickly relieve muscle stiffness.