Aging-stimulating mechanism that maintains mitochondrial function in muscle stem cells

It has been possible to identify a mechanism that maintains mitochondrial function in muscle stem cells and that can be stimulated in old age

Researchers from the National Center for Cardiovascular Research (CNIC), Pompeu Fabra University, ICREA, the Center for Biomedical Research on Neurodegenerative Diseases (CIBERNED) and the Center for Biomedical Research in the Network on Fragility and Healthy Aging (CIBERFES), in Spain, have identified a physiological mechanism that supports the regenerative capacity of muscle stem cells, and that fails during aging. However, as shown in the study, this malfunction can be overcome genetically and pharmacologically, thus restoring the regenerative functions of ancient stem cells.

Skeletal muscle regeneration depends on a population of muscle stem cells (satellite cells).

The regenerative functions of these stem cells are known to decline with aging. Now, Dr. Pura Muñoz-Cánoves, researcher at the CNIC and ICREA professor at the MELIS Department of the Pompeu Fabra University (UPF) in Barcelona, ​​and CIBERNED, and Dr. José Antonio Enríquez, researcher at the CNIC and CIBERFES, and their colleagues , have found, in experiments carried out with mice, that mitochondrial dynamics is necessary for tissue regeneration.

Mitochondrial fission facilitates muscle stem cell function through OXPHOS and regulation of mitochondrial autophagy (mitophagy).

Researchers have shown that genetic loss of the mitochondrial fission regulator DRP1 in muscle stem cells (or during aging) hampers their ability to proliferate and regenerate, while its restoration compensates for these defects.

Genetic loss of DRP1 in muscle stem cells (or with age) impairs their ability to proliferate and regenerate, while its restoration compensates for these defects. (Image: CNIC)

According to the results of the study, whose first author is Xiaotong Hong, a doctoral student at the CNIC, the normalization of mitochondrial dynamics (or the increase in OXPHOS and mitophagy) in aged muscle stem cells restores tissue regeneration.

This, they say, “opens the way to improve the health of older people who are weakened by the loss of muscle regenerative capacity.”

This study has also had the collaboration of researchers from the University of Córdoba in Spain and the University of Padua (Italy).

The study is titled “Mitochondrial dynamics maintains stem cell regenerative competence throughout adult life by regulating metabolism and mitophagy.” And it has been published in the academic journal Cell Stem Cell. (Source: CNIC)