Having the same benefits as the gym without moving a muscle. It is the promise of the protein called Sestrina, tested in fruit flies, which improves muscle performance by acting on the metabolism. Described in the Nature Communications magazine by the American University of Michigan group coordinated by Myungjin Kim and Jun Hee Lee, the protein will not be a new supplement. The goal of the research is to find substances capable of activating it to combat the loss of muscle tone in aging or in those who cannot exercise.
The researchers observed the behavior of fruit flies (Drosophila melanogaster), at home in the Biology laboratories, by comparing the animals to which Sestrina was administered and those that lacked it: "we observed that the protein accumulates in animal muscles during an exercise, such as flying, "said Myungjin Kim.
The fruit fly, Drosophila melanogaster, improves its muscle performance thanks to the protein Sestrina (source: Géry Parent / Wikipedia)
"The midges with Sestrina - 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 Sestrina acts as a molecular switch capable of turning on or off some metabolic pathways ".
