Understanding how muscles age
It is well known that muscle mass in humans decreases after the age of around 30. This decrease, known as sarcopenia, becomes more prominent after the age of 50 and can result in a significant decrease in the quality of life as strength, mobility and other facilities diminish. Biogerontologists are a special class of biologists trying to understand the processes of ageing and how to slow, stop or even reverse them. Biogerontologists from the National University of Ireland investigated sarcopenia not in humans, but in animals, namely rabbits and rats. Muscles are composed primarily of proteins, so several different biochemical assays of muscular tissue taken from the animals were performed. The techniques included: immunoblotting, electrophoresis, immunofluorescence microscopy, mass spectroscopy and others. The findings showed that the number of voltage-sensing alpha-1-subunits in the microsomal fraction was markedly reduced in older specimens. Furthermore, the ratio of the slow-twitch to fast-twitch forms of the major calcium-binding protein, calsequestrin, increased with age. The knowledge gathered during the LIFE QUALITY project, entitled AGEING MUSCLE, has led to ideas for further research. The National University of Ireland is seeking collaboration with academic and research institutes interested in following up on these exciting findings.
