Researchers discover how molecule could help repair muscle damage in exercise for people living with type 2 diabetes
Molecule released during exercise could be used as a treatment for muscle damage caused by type 2 diabetes.
Scientists have discovered a molecule that could provide a therapeutic treatment for muscle damage during exercise caused by type 2 diabetes.
The molecule L-β-aminoisobutyric acid (L-BAIBA) is a key molecule released during exercise that strengthens muscles and improves exercise performance.
Researchers at the University of Leeds found that the molecule is required for muscle to adapt to exercise, making it stronger and protecting against damage and weakness.
The study, recently published in Nature Communications, identified that L-BAIBA is a central regulator of how muscles remodel, strengthen, and improve their endurance in response to exercise training.
The report said: “Exercise is a systemic physiological process requiring co-ordination across multiple tissues and organs. Exercise training involves multiple bouts of activity that challenge whole-body physiology, driving adaptations across cells, tissues, and organs. Exercise is also an effective intervention for the prevention or treatment of a range of diseases and pathological risk factors, including obesity, type 2 diabetes and cardiovascular disease, and may facilitate improvements in age-related reduction in quality of life.
“The World Health Organization (WHO) estimates that 31% of adults are below recommended physical activity levels, and that physical inactivity is the 4th leading cause of mortality globally.
“Physical inactivity increases the risk of pathologies, including cardiovascular disease, cancer, and T2D. Reciprocally, diseases such as T2D are strongly associated with immobility and are a risk factor for mobility disability, frailty and decreased independence. How exercise exerts its systemic adaptive effects remains poorly understood.”
Health benefits of exercise
The research team aimed to find out whether this mechanism could hold the potential for treatment for chronic conditions such as type 2 diabetes.
Previous research by study lead Lee Roberts, Professor of Molecular Physiology and Metabolism at the University of Leeds in 2014 showed that L-BAIBA had beneficial effects on metabolism, boosting the fat-burning effects of exercise. It can now be purchased as a nutritional supplement.
Professor Roberts’ most recent study found that it also triggers muscles to respond and change, linking exercise to beneficial alternations in muscle structure and metabolism.
Professor Roberts said: "Our research identifies L-BAIBA as an exercise-induced signal that helps muscles adapt, improve their metabolic capacity and ability to contract, and ultimately enhances physical performance.
“This gives us exciting new insight into how exercise benefits the body and highlights a promising target for future therapies aimed at preserving muscle function in chronic conditions such as diabetes."
L-BAIBA also protects muscle from damage that happens in people living with type 2 diabetes which can limit quality of life, such as loss of muscle and strength, and impaired metabolism. Researchers suggested that improving muscle resistance to fatigue could be transformative, as exercise can help to manage diabetes.
Type 2 diabetes is a serious condition which can lead to complications such as heart attacks and strokes. The reasons why type 2 diabetes develops are complex. Risk factors include age, ethnicity, genetics and living with obesity or overweight.
Type 2 diabetes has historically been associated with older people, but cases among under-40s have been rising in recent years and are now increasing at a faster rate than among people over 40.
Read the report in Nature Communications
Read more about type 2 diabetes
Read the DRWF diabetes information resource Exercise and diabetes
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