Researchers at the Perelman School of Medicine at the University of Pennsylvania have identified a gene for endurance, or more precisely, a negative regulator of it. Not having the gene relates to greater endurance in the knockout mice that were studied. The investigators also showed that the gene is linked to Olympic-level athletes in endurance sports such as swimming compared to athletes in sprint sports such as the 100-meter dash. The study appears online this week in the Journal of Clinical Investigation. The work has implications for improving muscle performance in disease states including metabolic disorders, obesity, and aging.
“We have shown that mice lacking the gene run six times longer than control mice and that the fatigable muscles of the mouse — the fast muscle in the front of the leg — have been reprogrammed and are now fatigue-resistant,” explains senior author Tejvir S. Khurana, MD, PhD, professor of Physiology and member of the Pennsylvania Muscle Institute. “This has wide ramifications for various aspects of muscle biology ranging from athletics to treating muscle and metabolic diseases.”
To read the full, original article click on this link: Gene found for Olympic-level athletes’ endurance | ScienceBlog.com
