Scientists enhanced the protein that triggers muscle repair: what the experiments showed

The protein that triggers muscle repair

Scientists at Kyushu University have proposed a way to help aging muscles regenerate: they enhanced the interaction of hepatocyte growth factor (HGF) with the receptor involved in launching the repair of muscle fibers. The study was published in the journal Scientific Reports.

The problem: with age, the protein becomes damaged

HGF acts not only in the liver: in muscles it activates satellite cells — local stem cells involved in the repair of muscle fibers — by binding to the c-Met receptor. With age, the protein can undergo nitration, a chemical modification that disrupts this interaction. The researchers tested whether compounds with three consecutively linked sulfur atoms could protect the protein from such damage.

'Super-HGF' and its limitations

Two of the studied substances suppressed nitration, but the most interesting effect came from the trisulfide of lipoic acid, LASSS: at a certain ratio with HGF, it not only protected the protein but also more than doubled its binding to c-Met. The authors conventionally called the enhanced version 'super-HGF'.

What has already been tested in animals — and what has not

Preliminary experiments in mice with muscle atrophy caused by hindlimb unloading showed a reduction in nitration after LASSS treatment. This supports the idea of protecting the signaling protein in living tissue, but, as the publication emphasizes, it does not yet prove restoration of strength or prevention of age-related muscle loss. The next step is testing the efficacy and safety of the approach in aging animals. Thus, this concerns a laboratory result and early animal data, not a ready-made treatment method.