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In his genre-defining 1984 sci-fi novel \u201cNeuromancer,\u201d William Gibson envisioned a future filled with \u201cjoeboys,\u201d or \u201cnearly identical young men,\u201d whose arms and shoulders were \u201cbulging with grafted muscle.\u201d<\/p>\n
In the cyberpunk trilogy\u2019s universe, the grafts were a prominent type of biological body modification among corporate bodyguards to increase strength and appear more intimidating.<\/p>\n
While the intention isn\u2019t to get swole without ever hitting the gym, scientists in China say they\u2019ve effectively turned the concept into a reality. As the South China Morning Post reports<\/a>, the researchers developed a \u201cself-exercising\u201d muscle graft designed to be injected under the skin. They say it could give bedridden patients a fitness boost without ever getting out of bed. These \u201cmyografts\u201d could also be a game changer for those suffering from conditions that result in muscle atrophy and other age-related conditions.<\/p>\n If the current frenzy over black market unapproved GLP-1s<\/a> is any indication, though, we could easily imagine certain gym bros jumping at the opportunity to inject themselves with the muscles grafts. (As Gibson once quipped, \u201cthe street finds its own uses for things.\u201d)<\/p>\n As detailed in a new paper<\/a> published today in the journal Nature Aging, the researchers describe how these myografts \u2014 the result of subcutaneous injections of modified muscle cells \u2014 led to \u201cmature, vascularized structures that self-contract continuously in mice.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cMyografts improve whole-body muscle mass and function, and metabolic and regenerative outcomes in aging and obese mouse models,\u201d the researchers wrote. <\/p>\n While we\u2019re likely still years away from human trials, the scientists described their preclinical study involving mice as a \u201cnoteworthy step in this direction.\u201d<\/p>\n The grafts could provide those with extremely limited mobility a way to take a major shortcut.<\/p>\n \u201cIn a sense, we\u2019re distilling the best part of exercise out\u2026 and avoiding all the negative effects of exercise, whether it\u2019s the stress on the heart or the stress on your joints,\u201d Chinese Academy of Sciences\u2019 Institute of Zoology professor and principal investigator Ng Shyh-Chang told the SCMP.<\/p>\n \u201cIt turns out that the people who need exercise the most are also the folks who cannot exercise the most,\u201d Ng added. \u201cSo we need some way to mimic exercise to get them started, to get their basic health going before they can actually do the exercise that they need to do.\u201d<\/p>\n Even better, the scientists found that the myografts could produce other \u201ctherapeutic proteins,\u201d or myokines, such as growth hormones and even weight loss-linked compounds such as GLP-1s, which can \u201ccounteract bone or muscle loss without observed side effects.\u201d<\/p>\n Instead of transplanting entire three-dimensional structures known as organoids, Ng and his team opted to start by first injecting the cells and have them \u201cform the organoid slowly under the skin.\u201d<\/p>\n Once injected, the cells self-organized into myografts that could contract spontaneously, mimicking the effects of physical exercise.<\/p>\n \u201cIt\u2019s contracting non-stop, 24\/7, so it\u2019s persistently secreting the good beneficial factors into the bloodstream,\u201d Ng told the SCMP. \u201cThe sheer amount of good factors it\u2019s secreting exceeds what you can get from acute exercise for just one hour.\u201d<\/p>\n The team claims that the growth of these grafts remains stable, meaning that the risk of tumor-like growth is low \u2014 but we\u2019ll only know whether it\u2019s truly effective, let alone safe, for humans once clinical trials take place, something Ng is actively trying to set up.<\/p>\n But to get there could take quite some time, as experts who weren\u2019t involved in the study told Nature<\/a>, and plenty of questions remain over the approach\u2019s viability.<\/p>\n