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A new study suggested that chronic inflammation in the body can be fought by the body’s muscle itself if the muscle cells are well built and active.
Researcher of the study Nenad Bursac, Professor at Duke University said: “Our engineered muscle platform is modular, meaning we can mix and match various types of cells and tissue components if we want to. But in this case, we discovered that the muscle cells were capable of taking anti-inflammatory actions all on their own.”
The researchers noted in their study that among many molecules that can cause inflammation, one pro-inflammatory molecule, in particular, interferon-gamma, is linked to various types of muscle wasting and dysfunction.
The research team used an engineered muscle platform to prove that muscle alone is capable of blocking interferon gamma’s effects.
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The researchers were the first to grow to contract, functional human skeletal muscle in a Petri dish. Since then, the lab has been improving its processes by, for example, adding immune cells and reservoirs of stem cells to the recipe.
In the current study, the researchers took these fully functional, lab-grown muscles and inundated them with relatively high levels of interferon-gamma for seven days to mimic the effects of a long-lasting chronic inflammation. As expected, the muscle was contracted and lost much of its strength.
The researchers then applied interferon-gamma again, but this time also put the muscle through a simulated exercise regime by stimulating it with a pair of electrodes.
They expected the procedure to induce some muscle growth, as shown in their previous studies. But they discovered that it completely prevented the effects of chronic inflammation.
The study also stated that when the body is injured, an initial low-level inflammatory response helps purge the debris and rebuild the tissues.
The findings of the study were published in the journal Science Advances.
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