Skeletal muscle hypertrophy and atrophy affect health issues such as obesity, diabetes, and cancer, which place a tremendous socioeconomic burden on society. According to the World Health Organization (WHO), around 2.5 billion people worldwide are overweight, 529 million people suffer from diabetes, and 19 million new cancer cases are diagnosed each year.**
Prof. Dr. Henning Wackerhage, head of the Associate Professorship of Exercise Biology, is the spokesperson and coordinator of the HyperMet research group, which is composed of international scientists from the fields of biomedicine, medicine, physics, metabolic research, and computational biology. The research project is funded by the German Research Foundation (DFG) with €4.5 million for the next four years, with the option of additional funding for another four years. A total of nine sub-projects will be carried out as part of this initiative. The results are intended to help address and potentially reduce the described issues.
The consortium's goal is to investigate the impact of skeletal muscle hypertrophy and atrophy on metabolic health on three levels (intramuscular, metabolite exchange, interorgan metabolism) using advanced methods in metabolic research. Most studies on skeletal muscle hypertrophy and atrophy focus on the DNA-RNA-protein system. However, as with cancer, skeletal muscle hypertrophy and atrophy require so-called "metabolic reprogramming," the adaptation of metabolic pathways within cells. How this works and what effects it has on human metabolism are not yet sufficiently understood. The research group aims to contribute to filling this gap.
The DFG project is of great importance for the Department of Health and Sport Sciences, as it is the first time a sports scientist has taken on a spokesperson role in a DFG-funded research consortium. !For me personally and for our team, it’s a milestone, as we now have the opportunity to make a significant contribution through high-quality research to better understand how muscle hypertrophy and atrophy affect our metabolism – because our central research idea is strong and important," said Prof. Wackerhage.
In his sub-project, the sports biologist specifically addresses the effects of skeletal muscle hypertrophy and atrophy on metabolism, the exchange of metabolites, and the metabolic fate of glucose. The study will investigate which critical points in metabolism are responsible for muscle growth and muscle atrophy. "Various metabolites such as glucose, lactate, and amino acids will be labeled and their role in growing or decreasing muscle tissue will be analyzed," explained Prof. Wackerhage.
Special experiments, such as unilateral strength training and the analysis of arterial and venous blood samples, will measure which metabolites are taken up and released by growing and atrophying muscles. "The aim is to better understand muscle metabolism and identify potential disease mechanisms influenced by muscle hypertrophy or atrophy," Wackerhage added.
Finally, in the second funding phase, the focus will be on human interventions to explore how much muscle hypertrophy stimulation impacts metabolic diseases. "For example, studies will be conducted on individuals with low testosterone levels or obesity, who will be encouraged to build muscle through strength training and possible hormonal support to reduce fat mass and improve metabolic problems such as high blood sugar. The goal is to achieve positive effects on metabolism through targeted muscle growth and to promote lifestyle changes," Prof. Wackerhage elaborated.
To the Associate Professorship of Exercise Biology
To the DFG press release
Contact:
Prof. Dr. Henning Wackerhage
Associate Professorship of Exercise Biology
Georg-Brauchle Ring 60/62
80992 Munich
Phone: +49 89 289 24480
Email: Henning.Wackerhage(at)tum.de
Text: Bastian Daneyko
Photo: HyperMet/Private