What prevents muscles from recovering with age
Scientists from the Albert Einstein College of Medicine presented two studies that revealed the key mechanism of muscle aging. It turned out that the age—related decrease in the activity of a special cellular processing system, chaperone-mediated autophagy (CMA), is directly related to the development of sarcopenia, that is, age—related muscle wasting. CMA is responsible for cleaning up inside cells: it removes damaged proteins and helps replace them with new ones. Previously, its decline was associated with brain diseases and metabolic disorders, but its role in muscles remained poorly understood. The updated data show that CMA is necessary both for maintaining the strength of muscle fibers and for the ability of muscles to recover from damage.
For the study, mouse models were created in which CMA was disabled either in muscle fibers or in muscle stem cells. In both cases, the animals quickly lost their strength.: defective proteins accumulated in the fibers, contractions were disrupted, and stem cells lost their ability to create new cells for tissue repair. Such changes resembled the processes observed in people with age-related muscle loss.
On the contrary, artificial enhancement of CMA in elderly mice, both by genetic methods and pharmacologically, improved muscle function, increased strength and tissue repair capacity. It has also been proven that CMA decreases dramatically with aging and malnutrition, especially with fatty diets. However, two simple approaches — physical activity and periods of hunger—can boost CMA activity again and support muscle health.
The researchers note that a decrease in CMA may be one of the earliest signs of aging muscle tissue. They found it even in healthy elderly people even before pronounced muscle dysfunction. In patients with diagnosed sarcopenia, CMA activity was significantly reduced.
The work highlights that CMA is a key advocate for muscle health and a promising target for preventing or treating age-related muscle decline. According to the head of research, Anna Maria Cuervo, even simple lifestyle changes can stimulate this cellular mechanism and help preserve muscles in old age.
Published
November, 2025
Category
Science
Duration of reading
2–3 minutes
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Source
Scientific Journal Nature Metabolism. Article: «Age-related decline of chaperone-mediated autophagy in skeletal muscle leads to progressive myopathy»
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