Muscle healing.
A protein once thought to protect only the ends of chromosomes could have the key to healthy muscles. Researchers from the Perelman School of Medicine at the University of Pennsylvania have found that TRF2 is essential for helping muscle stem cells repair damaged muscles. Without this essential protein the damaged muscle doesn't repair but is instead replaced by fat and scar tissue. With these findings the researchers are hopeful it will be possible to develop treatments for Duchenne Muscular Dystrophy (DMD) and other muscle wasting diseases.
Every time you exercise, recover from an injury or heal from illness you experience tiny injuries as you move through your daily tasks. Fortunately your body has built-in muscle stem cells which become active after damage occurs and regenerate muscle to repair themselves.
However the latest research found an amazing repair mechanism that relies heavily on TRF2 without which muscle stem cells lose their identity and become unable to regenerate healthy muscle. And the damaged area replaces the muscle with fat deposits and scar tissue making recovery difficult and muscle function more and more problematic.
The findings published in Science Advances found that TRF2 plays a complex role than simply protecting the chromosomes ends as it has already been known to do. Researchers observed that the levels of TRF2 fluctuated in the presence of healthy muscle stem cells during their various phases of recovery i.e from rest to repairing damaged tissue and finally returning to a dormant state.
To understand its importance scientists took TRF2 out of the muscle stem cells in laboratory mice. The outcome was amazing as the stem cells slowly lost their unique identity although they initially appeared normal. The muscle was unable to regenerate resulting in the buildup of fat and scar tissue rather than muscle tissue. The researchers also discovered that mice without TRF2 lived less and had more muscle degeneration than mice with the protein when they were injected with DMD cells.
Foteini Mourkioti, senior author, PhD, an associate professor of Orthopaedic Surgery at Penn Medicine explains, "For years TRF2 has been viewed as a protein whose primary job is protecting the ends of chromosomes from damage or corruption. But rather than simply protecting DNA - TRF2 seems to be key to regenerating muscle throughout life."
These findings not only shed light on the importance of TRF2as a protector of chromosomes but also reveal its role as a key player in muscle regeneration. Researchers believe that understanding how TRF2 helps maintain the muscle stem cells will open avenues for new therapies for muscular dystrophy and loss of muscle mass in older adults. The results also shed light on how skeletal muscle which can regenerate to an amazing degree rarely develops cancer providing a new direction for research in regenerative medicine and cancer.
Disclaimer: This content is for informational purposes only and not medical advice. Always consult a healthcare professional before changing your exercise routine especially with existing conditions.
