Exercises that can rejuvenate the body
A team of researchers from the United States, with the participation of Steve Horvath, a well-known scientist, the creator of the epigenetic clock that determines biological age, conducted an experiment on mice to compare the rejuvenating effects of physical activity and cell reprogramming. It turned out that resistance exercises can have almost the same beneficial effect on the body as gene modifications. The scientific article was published in the Journal of Physiology.
What you will learn in the article
- How researchers compared resistance exercise with genetic reprogramming in aging mice
- What Yamanaka factors are and how they reprogram old cells toward a young pluripotent state
- Why c-Myc is discussed as both a Yamanaka factor and a factor induced by skeletal muscle training
- How strength training changed old mouse muscle toward a molecular profile of partial cell reprogramming
- Why the article compares the effect of exercise with the effect of genetic manipulation
Table of Contents
In the course of the study, one group of mice, whose lifespan was nearing the end, was forced to perform strength exercises (they had access to a wheel with additional weights). The second group of aging animals was genetically reprogrammed through the expression of Yamanaki factors.
Yamanaki factors are four protein transcription factors (Oct3/4, Sox2, Klf4, and c-Myc, often referred to by the acronym OKSM) by which an old cell is reprogrammed into a young, pluripotent state. Japanese scientist Shinya Yamanaka was awarded the Nobel Prize in 2012 for their discovery. With proper mechanics, the induction of Yamanaka factors throughout the body in rodents can smooth out and even completely remove the signs of aging.
It is known that one of the four factors, c—Myc, is induced by skeletal muscle training. The researchers compared the muscles of old mice that were allowed to exercise with those of animals with overexpression of OKSM, as well as those with only overexpression of c-Myc.
As a result, the scientists found that strength training promotes a molecular profile consistent with partial cell reprogramming. In other words, muscles that have undergone physical activity acquire the molecular profile of muscle tissue exposed to Yamanaki factors (and thus acquire the characteristics of younger cells). This beneficial effect of exercise, as the authors of the article report, may be partially related to the specific actions of c-Myc in muscles.
Thus, exercise can really rejuvenate the body — its effect is comparable to genetic manipulation. The first author of the study, Ronald J. Jones III believes that physical activity is the most powerful medicine that a person has — it not only improves health, but also prolongs life.
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Key takeaways
- The experiment compared aging mice doing strength exercises with animals genetically reprogrammed through Yamanaka factors
- Yamanaka factors include Oct3/4, Sox2, Klf4 and c-Myc, often abbreviated as OKSM
- Shinya Yamanaka received the 2012 Nobel Prize for discovering these factors
- Strength training produced a molecular profile consistent with partial cell reprogramming
- The authors suggest the exercise effect may be partly related to the specific actions of c-Myc in muscles
Published
July, 2024
Duration of reading
1-2 min
Category
Body
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