New research group: Muscle building and metabolic health

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When skeletal muscle tissue shrinks, whether due to age or serious illness, and muscle mass decreases, this is known as muscle atrophy. In muscle hypertrophy, on the other hand, the muscles swell and become larger as a result of increased strain such as physical work or muscle training. The different effects of both phenomena on metabolic health are the focus of the "HyperMet" research group, which will now receive 4.5 million euros in funding from the German Research Foundation (DFG) over the next few years. Professor Hanna Taipaleenmäki from the Institute of Musculoskeletal Medicine at LMU Hospital is the deputy spokesperson for the project, which is headed by Professor Henning Wackerhage from the Technical University of Munich. Researchers from Helmholtz Munich and the Technical University of Braunschweig are also involved.

In view of an ageing and sedentary society, the relevance of the topic is clear: while muscle atrophy has predominantly negative health effects, muscle hypertrophy is associated with fat loss, a better regulated sugar balance, higher bone mineral density and positive effects on cancer. As part of HyperMet, the researchers are therefore investigating whether decreasing or increasing muscle size releases metabolic products that lead to metabolic disorders or improved metabolic health in other tissues.

Projects at the LMU

The research group consists of a total of nine projects, two of which are being carried out at LMU:

In the HyperBone project, Hanna Taipaleenmäki is investigating how muscle hypertrophy and atrophy affect bone metabolism and bone marrow fat.

Skeletal muscle and bone are regulated by specific neurotransmitters, and there is evidence that muscle influences bone metabolism. For example, muscle atrophy caused by immobilization or glucocorticoids is associated with a loss of bone mass and strength, while testosterone causes muscle hypertrophy and increases bone mass. In contrast, the fat content in bone marrow is often increased in muscle and bone atrophy and decreased in muscle hypertrophy. In her project, Taipaleenmäki will use advanced metabolic research methods to investigate the metabolic links between muscle, bone and bone marrow fat and explore the hypothesis that the large bioenergetic demand of the musculoskeletal system influences systemic metabolism. Their findings could be important for understanding diseases such as osteoporosis.

In the HyperPig project, Professor Eckhard Wolf and Arne Hinrichs (Center for Innovative Medical Models) are using pig models to investigate how a change in body composition towards less fat and more muscle affects metabolic health.

Wolf and Hinrichs are experts in the generation and characterization of genetically modified or diet-induced pig models. The project will use modern metabolic research methods to investigate the genetic background and possible triggers of muscle hypertrophy and generate pig models in which this effect is particularly pronounced. The methods available within the HyperMet consortium for advanced metabolic research, such as flux analyses, will be used for the first time in a genetically modified pig model.