We hypothesized that if we could suppress the inflammatory response that occurred during the recovery process from disuse muscle atrophy, recovery would be faster. The purpose of this study was to use experimental animals to compare muscles in which have been suppressed the inflammation by applying anti-inflammatory drugs, with muscles that have naturally healed from inflammation.
We used experimental animals to induce disuse muscle atrophy in the soleus muscle and compared the group that received anti-inflammation drug injection during the recovery process with the other group that recovered naturally without the injection, in order to examine the effect of inflammation that occurs during the recovery process from muscle atrophy. The mRNA expression of myosin heavy chain (MHC), a major protein in muscle contraction, and inflammatory cytokine (IL-6) were examined as study indicators.
The injected group showed decrease in IL-6, which means the migration of immune cells was suppressed. MHC slow type was decreased in the injected group and the transformation to fast muscle type due to atrophy was suppressed, but the effect of the drug was not observed in MHC fast type.
It was suggested that suppressing the inflammatory response caused by atrophic muscles during the early stages of recovery from disuse muscle atrophy may further promote recovery.
The results of this study could be developed into more effective and specific treatment proposals for patients with disuse muscle atrophy in clinical rehabilitation settings. We believe that muscle recovery will lead to improved mobility and quality of life for patients, leading to true rehabilitation.
myosin heavy chain (MHC)
inflammatory cytokine (IL-6)
