Muscle atrophy caused by inactivity can be prevented with metformin. This was reported by the press service of the RNF.
Skeletal muscles not only enable humans and animals to move, but are also an important organ involved in metabolism. They can adapt to a person’s lifestyle: with regular loads they become more flexible, with strength exercises they increase in volume and allow you to lift more weights, but at the same time they can atrophy (weaken) with prolonged rest. . This is particularly acutely felt by bedridden patients and astronauts living in weightless conditions in orbit. At the same time, many animals can spend months hibernating without severe muscle atrophy – so in theory this problem could be solved artificially.
A group of scientists led by Boris Shenkman of the Institute of Biomedical Problems of the Russian Academy of Sciences has found a way to suppress muscle atrophy at the basic level – solving the problem of metabolic disorders in them. Atrophy is primarily associated with an imbalance between the rate of muscle protein synthesis and its breakdown – during prolonged rest cells consume very little cellular “fuel” adenosine triphosphate (ATP), as this compound accumulates in tissue and impairs its functioning. . This happens due to the inactivity of the regulatory enzyme – AMP-activated protein kinase (AMPK), which when using it requires the ATP cleavage product – adenosine monophosphate (AMP). The authors suggested activating the enzyme with the drug metformin, which is prescribed to treat diabetes.
Scientists conducted experiments on mice in which they limited the activity of the muscles of the hind limbs by slightly lifting their tails so that they could freely roam around the cage, eat and drink water, but at the same time use only their front. claws. It turned out that metformin reduces the degree of muscle destruction: with it, the mass of the soleus muscle was reduced by only 21%, and without it – by 37%. Muscle strength in drug-treated mice was one-third higher than in animals that had atrophied from drug exposure.
The authors hope their discovery will help people on prolonged bed rest or who are unable to walk for objective reasons.
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