Key pathways of muscle development and repair after resistance training are identified by a recently released study from the University of Houston College of Pharmacy. This discovery paved the way for the creation of focused treatments for several muscular conditions, including muscular dystrophy, which affects millions of people globally.
The significance of such a finding in the field of muscles and muscular diseases cannot be emphasised.
Their findings were published in the journal EMBO Reports.
In view of
During the process of embryonic development, hundreds of specialized cells known as myoblasts fuse to become skeletal muscles. Satellite cells, a kind of muscle stem cell, are responsible for the ability of adult skeletal muscles to regenerate.
Following damage, satellite cells proliferate many times before differentiating into myoblasts. To achieve muscle regeneration, these myoblasts merge with wounded myofibers and with each other once again.
Muscle mass and function are lost as a result of the inherent ability of muscles to regenerate being compromised in several muscular illnesses.
The muscles of muscles
Your skeletal muscles operate to regulate every action you make, including breathing, which is the most basic bodily function. They also manage the metabolism of your whole body:
- Running
- Sitting
- Smiling
- Walking
- Standing
- Blinking
Science behind
Inositol-requiring enzyme 1, a crucial signalling protein, has been shown by UH researchers to be necessary for myoblast fusion during muscle development and growth.
During muscle regeneration, IRE1 augments the activity of X-box binding protein 1 which in turn stimulates the gene expression of multiple transmembrane proteins required for myoblast fusion,
Ashok Kumar, Else and Philip Hargrove
Researchers have shown that boosting IRE1 or XBP1 levels in muscle stem cells outside of the body and then injecting those cells into patients’ muscle tissues can enhance muscle healing and lessen the severity of their illness.
We also found that augmenting the levels of IRE1α or XBP1 in myoblasts leads to the formation of myotubes (muscle cells) having an increased diameter.
Ashok Kumar
Size is very important for muscle. Muscle grows only in size, not in number,
Muscular people have larger muscle cells. Larger muscles generally work better- can lift more weight, run and walk faster, and improve overall metabolism of the body and prevent various diseases, such as type II diabetes.
Aniket Joshi
Flexing their muscles
For Kumar’s team, this new research is not a first. Research from Kumar’s lab was published in the ELife journal in 2021, and it showed how the IRE1α/XBP1 signalling axis functions in models of Duchenne muscular dystrophy and the regeneration of healthy skeletal muscle following acute damage. The results of this study further indicate that the IRE1α/XBP1 signalling axis is critical for satellite cell autonomy.
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Along with Kumar and Joshi, post-doctoral fellow Meiricris Tomaz da Silva and research assistant professor, Anirban Roy conducted the research in Kumar’s lab. Other authors of the article from the University of Houston include Micah Castillo, Preethi Gunaratne, Mingfu Wu, Yu Liu, and a former post-doctoral fellow in Kumar’s lab Tatiana E. Koike along with Takao Iwawaki of Kanazawa Medical University, Japan.
Source: University of Houston News
Journal Reference: Joshi, Aniket S et al. “The IRE1α/XBP1 signaling axis drives myoblast fusion in adult skeletal muscle.” EMBO reports, 10.1038/s44319-024-00197-4. 9 Jul. 2024, DOI:10.1038/s44319-024-00197-4.
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