NEED TO KNOW<\/p>\n
Researchers in Japan discovered a compound that may protect and enhance muscle repair as we age<\/p>\n
The compound creates a stronger version of a key protein, potentially slowing muscle loss and preserving strength<\/p>\n
The findings could benefit humans and animals, improving quality of life during aging or after extended inactivity<\/p>\n
Weakening muscles associated with age might be able to be slowed down, according to a new study.\u00a0<\/p>\n
On Friday, July 24, researchers at Kyushu University in Fukuoka, Japan announced<\/a> that they discovered a new compound that may help muscles stay strong as we age.<\/p>\n The team, led by professor Ryuichi Tatsumi at the school’s Faculty of Agriculture, published their findings in Science Daily<\/a>, calling the new compound “Super HGF.” The name is derived from HGF [hepatocyte growth factor], a protein that helps activate muscle repair.<\/p>\n It also aids with skeletal muscle repair and regeneration.<\/p>\n “A sulfur-based compound called LASSS appears to protect and supercharge a key protein involved in repairing damaged muscle,” the researchers summarized. “The discovery could eventually lead to new ways to slow muscle loss and preserve strength as people age.”<\/p>\n For their research, the team investigated two compounds that each have powerful antioxidant properties: glutathione trisulfide (GSSSG) and lipoic acid trisulfide (LASSS). Both are trisulfides, a class of molecules containing three sulfur atoms connected in sequence.<\/p>\n HGF can contribute to muscle fiber repair, but as the body ages naturally, the process of muscle restoration can typically become interrupted.<\/p>\n “HGF is not necessarily missing as we age,” Tatsumi said. “Rather, it can be chemically altered after it is made. That led us to wonder whether a compound with strong antioxidant capacity might protect HGF, either by preventing nitration or by compensating for the functional loss it causes.”\u00a0<\/p>\n His team’s study found that in initial experiments, GSSSG and LASSS suppressed the nitration of HGF until untreated HGF eventually became more resistant to nitration-induced dysfunction.<\/p>\n “This exceeded our expectations,” Tatsumi said of the results. “We knew trisulfides had diverse biological functions, but we never expected that simply mixing HGF with LASSS would produce such a striking effect.”<\/p>\n