You must have heard that strong muscles increase your strength and help you maintain healthy body weight. But did you know that according to a new study in mice, research has revealed muscle mass may help maintain a strong immune system? Scientists have now found that muscles, especially skeletal muscles help keep the immunity system functional in chronic diseases. This SMBT blog takes you through what you need to know about this research.
According to the research, skeletal muscles play an important role in maintaining an effective immune system. This is particularly the case during chronic illnesses or infections, which can otherwise wear the immune system down. Let’s take a look at the groundworks this research was focused on:
- Cachexia
Cachexia is a process that is typically characterized by the wasting away of the body’s muscles and fat. It accompanies severe chronic illnesses such as cancer and is responsible for up to a third of cancer-related deaths. It can also affect people with other serious conditions, such as AIDS, chronic kidney diseases, and heart failure. The underlying reason for cachexia could be due to the body overcompensating when it attempts to take energy from muscle and fat to help fight a severe illness. However, exactly why and how it happens are still largely unknown. Despite cachexia’s link to mortality, researchers have not yet developed any effective remedies or therapies for it. But according to this new study, strong skeletal muscles may help combat cachexia and prevent its probability.
- Precursor T cells
In this context, researchers developed this study to explore the relationship between cachexia, skeletal muscle mass, and T cells. Alongside cachexia, people with severe chronic illnesses can also experience a weakened immune system. This is because their T cells, which are central to the immune system’s response to illnesses, become exhausted. While conducting this study, scientists noticed that in response to the chronic infection which had been transmitted to the mice, its muscle cells released more of the messenger substance interleukin-15. Interleukin-15 attracts the precursors of the T cells, in this case, to the skeletal muscles. This enables the immune system to fight the virus continuously over a long period.
Good muscle mass can be the way to go for a healthier immune system! Stay healthy and positive. If you liked this blog, share it with your fellow friends and family. Stay tuned with us for more health-related blogs!
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