As people grow older, muscles naturally become smaller and weaker. This process can make walking, lifting objects, and keeping balance more difficult.
Ageing muscles also contain more fat and scar tissue, while the fast muscle fibres needed for quick movements gradually disappear.
Scientists hope that understanding why this happens will lead to treatments that help older adults stay active for longer. A new study from Kyushu University, published in Scientific Reports, may have uncovered an important part of the answer.
Healthy muscles constantly repair themselves with the help of muscle stem cells. These cells remain inactive until they receive a signal that damage has occurred.
One of the most important signals comes from a protein called hepatocyte growth factor, or HGF, which activates muscle stem cells by attaching to the c-Met receptor.
The researchers previously discovered that ageing changes HGF through a chemical reaction known as nitration. This process prevents HGF from fitting onto its receptor, much like a damaged key that no longer opens a lock. As a result, muscle stem cells receive weaker repair messages and muscle recovery slows.
Looking for a solution, the team investigated two antioxidant compounds containing three linked sulphur atoms. These compounds, called glutathione trisulfide and lipoic acid trisulfide, have attracted attention because of their unique chemical properties and possible medical uses.
Both compounds reduced harmful changes to HGF, but only lipoic acid trisulfide, or LASSS, produced a dramatic improvement. Instead of merely protecting HGF, LASSS appeared to create a stronger version that attached to the c-Met receptor much more effectively than normal HGF.
The scientists named this improved protein ‘Super HGF’. A stronger repair signal could allow ageing muscle stem cells to become active more easily and improve the body’s natural ability to rebuild damaged muscle tissue.
The team then tested LASSS in mice whose muscles had weakened because they were unable to use them normally. The treated animals showed much less HGF damage than untreated mice, suggesting the laboratory findings may also apply in living muscles.
The researchers believe this approach could eventually help many different groups of people. Older adults, patients recovering after long hospital stays, and people whose muscles weaken because of illness or inactivity may all benefit if future studies are successful. They also think similar benefits may eventually extend to pets such as dogs and cats.
Despite the exciting results, several important questions remain unanswered. Human clinical trials have not yet been carried out, and scientists still need to determine whether LASSS is safe, what dose is most effective, and whether the benefits continue over many years.
Overall, this research provides a fascinating new way of thinking about muscle ageing. Rather than replacing damaged cells, it aims to restore the body’s own repair signals. That makes the study scientifically important, although much more research is needed before any treatment reaches hospitals or clinics.
If future work confirms these findings, this discovery could help many people maintain strength, independence, and quality of life as they age.
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Source: Kyushu University.
