Gain the same benefits as the gym without moving a muscle. It is the promise of the protein called Sestrin-2, tested on fruit flies, which improves muscle performance by acting on the metabolism. Described in the Nature Communications journal by the American University of Michigan team coordinated by Myungjin Kim and Jun Hee Lee, the protein will not stem a new dietary supplement. The goal of the research is to find substances capable of activating that proteins to combat the loss of muscle tone in the old age or in those who cannot exercise.
The researchers observed the behavior of fruit flies (Drosophila melanogaster), a most common test animal in all biology laboratories, by comparing the animals to which Sestrin-2 was administered and those that lacked it: "we observed that the protein accumulates in animal muscles during an exercise, such as flight", said Myungjin Kim.
The fruit fly, Drosophila melanogaster, improves muscle performance thanks to the protein Sestrin-2 (source: Géry Parent / Wikipedia)
"The fruit flies with Sestrin-2 - he added - are able to fly longer, improving their performance, while animals without protein get tired earlier. These benefits - Kim concluded - grow by increasing the activity of the gene that regulates the production of the protein and this suggests the possibility that Sestrin-2 acts as a molecular switch capable of turning on or off some metabolic pathways ".
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