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Scientists have explained why exercise is critically important for muscle stem cells

Sergey Kolenov, Hi-tech+

After analyzing a large volume of literature, Canadian researchers came to the conclusion that regular exercise is necessary to maintain the health of muscle stem cells. Without them, these cells stay too long at rest, get damaged and lose their ability to divide.

Although mostly elderly people face serious muscle degeneration, the origins of this process lie at a much younger age. According to some estimates, after the age of thirty, muscle mass decreases by 3-5% every year. Fortunately, exercise can compensate for this process.

Building muscle mass is impossible without the participation of special stem cells – myosatellites. With the growth and regeneration of muscles, they divide, turning either into new stem cells or into myoblasts. The latter then turn into muscle fibers. When myosatellites are not used, they are at rest.

Researchers from University of Ottawa, whose work tells Science Alert, analyzed the literature on myosatellites. First of all, they were interested in how these cells react to exercise.

It turned out that several molecular genetic pathways are responsible for the awakening and reproduction of myosatellites. At the same time, if these cells remain dormant for too long, they stop updating, accumulate cellular debris and are damaged.

The older a person is, the faster this process goes. Some myosatellites lose their ability to come out of a state of rest with age.

Therefore, regular exercise is vital to maintain muscle health. They are not able to completely stop their aging, but they can significantly slow down this process.

Article by Chen et al. Satellite cells in aging: use it or lose it is published in the journal Open Biology – VM.

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