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Aging muscles lose their ability to repair themselves. Scientists may have found a way to help
A compound may help protect the body’s natural muscle-repair system
Updated:
key insights:
- Scientists have identified a compound that may help protect the body’s natural muscle-repair system from some of the damage associated with aging.
- The compound, called lipoic acid trisulfide (LASSS), improved the activity of a protein involved in muscle regeneration and protected it from damage in laboratory and mouse experiments.
- Older consumers shouldn’t rush to buy supplements: LASSS hasn’t been shown to prevent muscle loss in humans, and ordinary lipoic acid supplements did not produce the same effect in the study.
For older adults, losing muscle can mean much more than losing strength. It can make it harder to climb stairs, carry groceries, get out of a chair, and even recover from a stumble before it becomes a fall.
Scientists in Japan say they may have identified a new way to attack the problem: help the body’s existing muscle-repair system keep working as it ages.
A study published in Scientific Reports found that a compound called lipoic acid trisulfide (LASSS) can protect and enhance a protein that helps activate the stem cells responsible for repairing muscle.
The findings are early, and researchers haven’t demonstrated the effect in people. But the study could point toward a new strategy for addressing age-related muscle loss, including sarcopenia and frailty.
What happens to muscles as we age?
Muscles have their own repair crew.
Cells known as satellite cells — essentially muscle stem cells — can become activated when muscle tissue needs to regenerate. A protein called hepatocyte growth factor, or HGF, helps send the signal that gets those cells working.
That signaling system doesn’t appear to work as effectively with age.
Researchers have previously found that HGF can undergo a chemical modification called nitration. When that happens, HGF becomes less effective at binding to the receptor that helps trigger muscle repair.
That may be particularly important for fast-twitch muscle fibers, which produce the quick, powerful movements people use when climbing stairs, standing up quickly, or trying to regain their balance.
The researchers wanted to know whether LASSS could protect HGF from that damage.
The compound more than doubled HGF’s binding ability
In laboratory testing, the researchers exposed HGF to tiny amounts of LASSS and then removed the excess compound.
They found that the treated HGF had more than twice the binding affinity for its receptor compared with untreated, non-damaged HGF.
LASSS also made HGF more resistant to nitration.
The researchers tested two other substances for comparison: glutathione trisulfide and lipoic acid. Neither produced the same improvement.
The scientists then conducted experiments in mice using a method that causes muscles to weaken through disuse. Giving the mice LASSS beforehand helped prevent the HGF nitration associated with that muscle disuse.
Why this could matter for older adults
Age-related muscle loss can eventually develop into sarcopenia, a condition involving declining muscle mass, strength, and physical performance.
That matters because maintaining muscle isn’t just about staying fit. Muscle strength can affect mobility, balance, and a person’s ability to remain independent.
The new research is interesting because it takes a different approach to the problem.
Rather than simply trying to build more muscle, scientists are investigating whether they can preserve the body’s ability to repair the muscle it already has.
If that approach eventually works in people, protecting HGF could potentially help aging muscles respond more effectively when they need to regenerate.