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Inflammation is a natural response to injury, but sometimes the immune system overreacts and creates an inflammatory response that causes damage. Biomedical engineers at Duke University have discovered that human muscle has an innate ability to ward off the damaging effects of chronic inflammation when exercised. This discovery was made possible through the use of lab-grown, engineered human muscle.
| Characteristics | Values |
|---|---|
| Muscle's innate ability to remove inflammation | Warding off the damaging effects of chronic inflammation through exercise |
| Muscle's ability to remove inflammation through exercise | Lab-grown, engineered human muscle was able to remove inflammation |
| Muscle's ability to remove inflammation through exercise | Muscle cells can take anti-inflammatory actions on their own |
| Muscle's ability to remove inflammation through exercise | Exercising muscle cells can directly counter pro-inflammatory signalling |
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What You'll Learn
- Exercise can help muscles combat chronic inflammation
- Muscle cells can take anti-inflammatory actions independently
- Chronic inflammatory diseases induce muscle atrophy
- Interferon gamma is a pro-inflammatory molecule that can cause muscle wasting and dysfunction
- Initial low-level inflammation responses clear away debris and help tissue rebuild
Exercise can help muscles combat chronic inflammation
Research has shown that exercise can help muscles combat chronic inflammation. Biomedical engineers at Duke University have demonstrated that human muscle has an innate ability to ward off the damaging effects of chronic inflammation when exercised.
In a study, researchers took lab-grown muscles and exposed them to high levels of interferon gamma for seven days to mimic the effects of long-lasting chronic inflammation. As expected, the muscle got smaller and lost much of its strength. However, when the researchers applied interferon gamma again and put the muscle through a simulated exercise regime, they found that it almost completely prevented the effects of chronic inflammation.
The researchers used an engineered muscle platform to prove that muscle alone is capable of blocking interferon gamma's destructive powers. This platform allowed them to mix and match various types of cells and tissue components to discover that muscle cells could take anti-inflammatory actions independently.
While previous research has shown that exercise can help mitigate the effects of inflammation in general, this study provides new insights into the specific role of muscle cells in combating chronic inflammation.
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Muscle cells can take anti-inflammatory actions independently
The discovery was made possible through the use of lab-grown, engineered human muscle. The researchers took these fully functional, lab-grown muscles and inundated them with relatively high levels of interferon gamma for seven days to mimic the effects of a long-lasting chronic inflammation. As expected, the muscle got smaller and lost much of its strength.
The researchers then applied interferon gamma again, but this time also put the muscle through a simulated exercise regime by stimulating it with a pair of electrodes. While they expected the procedure to induce some muscle growth, they were surprised to discover that it almost completely prevented the effects of the chronic inflammation.
The muscle cells were capable of taking anti-inflammatory actions all on their own. To prove that muscle alone is capable of blocking interferon gamma’s destructive powers, the researchers turned to an engineered muscle platform that the laboratory has been developing for nearly a decade.
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Chronic inflammatory diseases induce muscle atrophy
In a study, researchers took lab-grown muscles and exposed them to high levels of interferon gamma for seven days to mimic the effects of long-lasting chronic inflammation. As expected, the muscle got smaller and lost much of its strength. Interferon gamma is a pro-inflammatory molecule that has been associated with various types of muscle wasting and dysfunction.
The researchers then applied interferon gamma again, but this time they also put the muscle through a simulated exercise regime. They discovered that the exercise almost completely prevented the effects of the chronic inflammation. This suggests that muscle cells can take anti-inflammatory actions on their own and directly counter the pro-inflammatory signalling of interferon gamma.
Chronic inflammatory diseases, such as rheumatoid arthritis and sarcopenia, can cause muscle wasting and weaken the muscle's ability to contract. Exercise has been shown to help mitigate the effects of inflammation and can even prevent muscle atrophy induced by chronic inflammation.
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Interferon gamma is a pro-inflammatory molecule that can cause muscle wasting and dysfunction
Inflammation is a natural response to injury, which helps clear away debris and rebuild tissue. However, sometimes the immune system overreacts and creates an inflammatory response that causes damage. Chronic inflammatory diseases, such as rheumatoid arthritis and sarcopenia, can cause muscle to waste away and weaken its ability to contract.
Interferon gamma is a pro-inflammatory molecule that has been associated with various types of muscle wasting and dysfunction. It is thought to work primarily through a specific signalling pathway. Researchers at Duke University have shown that exercising muscle cells can directly counter the pro-inflammatory signalling of interferon gamma.
In one study, researchers took lab-grown muscles and exposed them to high levels of interferon gamma for seven days to mimic the effects of chronic inflammation. As expected, the muscle got smaller and lost much of its strength. However, when the researchers applied interferon gamma again, but also stimulated the muscle with a pair of electrodes to simulate exercise, they found that it almost completely prevented the effects of the chronic inflammation.
In another study, researchers tested the effect of burn injury in mice congenitally deficient in interferon gamma. They found that interferon gamma modulates trauma-induced muscle wasting and immune dysfunction.
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Initial low-level inflammation responses clear away debris and help tissue rebuild
When the body is injured, an initial low-level inflammation response clears away debris and helps tissue rebuild. This is a natural process that occurs in the body, and it is important for maintaining muscle health.
In the case of chronic inflammation, however, the immune system overreacts and creates an inflammatory response that causes damage. Chronic inflammatory diseases can induce muscle atrophy, leading to muscle wasting and dysfunction. One pro-inflammatory molecule, interferon gamma, has been associated with various types of muscle wasting and dysfunction.
Recent research has shown that exercising muscle cells can directly counter the pro-inflammatory signalling caused by interferon gamma. In a study conducted by biomedical engineers at Duke University, lab-grown, engineered human muscle was used to demonstrate the potential power of exercise in warding off the damaging effects of chronic inflammation. The muscle was inundated with high levels of interferon gamma for seven days to mimic the effects of long-lasting chronic inflammation, resulting in muscle atrophy. However, when the muscle was subjected to a simulated exercise regime, it almost completely prevented the effects of chronic inflammation, highlighting the muscle's innate ability to take anti-inflammatory actions on its own.
This discovery has important implications for understanding the role of exercise in mitigating the effects of inflammation and chronic inflammatory diseases. By exercising, individuals can harness the power of their muscle cells to combat inflammation and maintain muscle health, potentially reducing the risk of muscle wasting and dysfunction caused by chronic inflammatory conditions.
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Frequently asked questions
Exercise has been shown to help muscles combat chronic inflammation.
Chronic inflammation is caused by an overreaction of the immune system, which creates an inflammatory response that causes damage.
Chronic inflammation can cause muscle atrophy, or wasting, and weaken its ability to contract.
Interferon gamma is a pro-inflammatory molecule that has been associated with various types of muscle wasting and dysfunction.
Exercise helps to block the destructive powers of interferon gamma by countering its pro-inflammatory signalling.
