In a new study, researchers found that humans express a powerful hormone during exercise.
This hormone may help improve physical performance, capacity and fitness.
The findings present new possibilities for treating age-related physical decline.
The research was conducted by …
In the study, the team focused on how the mitochondrial genome encodes instructions for regulating physical capacity, performance and metabolism during aging and may be able to increase a healthy lifespan.
Mitochondria are known as the cell’s energy source, but they are also hubs that coordinate and fine-tune metabolism by actively communicating to the rest of the body.
As people age, that communication network seems to break down, but this study suggests people may restore that network so it is as fit as a younger one.
The team looked at the role of MOTS-c, one of several recently identified hormones known to mimic the effects of exercise.
They tested how injections of MOTS-c affected mice of different ages by measuring physical capacity and performance in young (2 months), middle-aged (12 months), and old (22 months) mice.
When the mice were presented with physical challenges—including maintaining balance on a rotating rod and running on an accelerating treadmill—mice of all ages who had received MOTS-c treatment fared much better than untreated mice of the same age.
Even groups of mice that had been fed a high-fat diet showed marked physical improvement after MOTS-c treatment and less weight gain than untreated mice.
Additionally, treating the oldest mice nearing the end of their lives with MOTS-c resulted in marked physical improvements.
The older mice were the human equivalent of 65 and above and once treated, they doubled their running capacity on the treadmill.
They were even able to outrun their middle-aged, untreated cohorts.
The team says the results from MOTS-c treatment in mice are extremely promising for future translation into humans.
especially the fact that such results were obtained even with treatment starting at older ages.
One author of the study is Changhan David Lee, an assistant professor at the USC Leonard Davis School of Gerontology.
The study is published in Nature Communications.
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