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Scientists have scientifically substantiated the benefits of exercise for muscle strengthening
Last reviewed: 01.07.2025
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Researchers from the University of Illinois have provided scientific evidence for the benefits of exercise for strengthening muscles. They have discovered the role stem cells play in building muscle mass.
We are talking about so-called mesenchymal stem cells. These are cells that are found in muscles, but are not directly related to muscle tissue and do not generate new muscle fibers. Nevertheless, scientists have shown that their role is great. The authors of the work published an article with the results in open access in the journal PLoS ONE, and its summary can be read on the news site of the University of Illinois.
Intense physical exercise causes stretching and microdamage to contractile muscle fibres. As a result, new muscle fibres are formed, and the muscles become stronger and larger. Mesenchymal stem cells (MSCs) are very sensitive to such microdamage and accumulate at the site of the working muscle, Professor Marni Boppart and his colleagues have shown.
“We decided to check whether the accumulation of MSCs at the sites of microdamage to muscles serves as a stimulus for their regeneration and growth after physical exercise,” says Boppart.
The scientists worked on mice. They made the laboratory rodents run intensively on a moving track, and then isolated MSCs from the muscle and placed them in a cell culture. It turned out that the cells from the trained muscle intensively synthesize proteins - growth factors. These proteins encourage other muscle cells (microsatellite cells) to merge together and form new muscle fibers. Biologists have known about the role of microsatellite cells for a long time, but they discovered for the first time that they are motivated to act by mesenchymal stem cells. How exactly MSCs coordinate this process was seen by marking the cells with a fluorescent label and injecting them back into the muscles.
MSCs, scientists believe, are the link between exercise and muscle growth. “We have seen that stem cells in adult muscle are the basis for maintaining muscle health through exercise,” explains Boppart.
Scientists hope that this source can be used for the benefit of humanity. For example, to develop a means on its basis that prevents the loss of muscle mass with age. Or to help patients suffering from muscle degeneration.
"While exercise is certainly the best way to keep muscles in good shape, even as we age, not all people can be physically active," the authors of the paper emphasize. "The opportunities for muscle growth in people with disabilities are very limited. We hope to understand how stem cells could be used to protect muscles from atrophy."
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