In a new study, researchers from the University of Arkansas, U.S., demonstrated how exercise affects gene expression. They found that exercise-induced changes are able to reprogram the epigenetic expression of the fibers to a more youthful state.
For their research, scientists used a mouse model with mice being 22 months old—equivalent to 73 years of age in humans. All mice were divided into two groups, an exercise group, and a control group. The exercise group was free to run on an unweighted wheel for the first week, and over the next 8 weeks, the wheel was made heavier.
The analysis of the collected data suggests that exercise helps reprogram muscle fibers to a more youthful state by way of increased expression of the genes that constitute Yamanaka factors, and Myc in particular.
