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. 2022 Jun 4;13(6):1014.
doi: 10.3390/genes13061014.

Secreted Protein Acidic and Rich in Cysteine as an Exercise-Induced Gene: Towards Novel Molecular Therapies for Immobilization-Related Muscle Atrophy in Elderly Patients

Abdelaziz Ghanemi  1   2 , Mayumi Yoshioka  2 , Jonny St-Amand  1   2
Affiliations

Secreted Protein Acidic and Rich in Cysteine as an Exercise-Induced Gene: Towards Novel Molecular Therapies for Immobilization-Related Muscle Atrophy in Elderly Patients

Abdelaziz Ghanemi et al. Genes (Basel). .

Abstract

Long periods of immobilization, among other etiologies, would result is muscle atrophy. Exercise is the best approach to reverse this atrophy. However, the limited or the non-ability to perform the required physical activity for such patients and the limited pharmacological options make developing novel therapeutic approaches a necessity. Within this context, secreted protein acidic and rich in cysteine (SPARC) has been characterized as an exercise-induced gene. Whereas the knock-out of this gene leads to a phenotype that mimics number of the ageing-induced and sarcopenia-related changes including muscle atrophy, overexpressing SPARC in mice or adding it to muscular cell culture produces similar effects as exercise including enhanced muscle mass, strength and metabolism. Therefore, this piece of writing aims to provide evidence supporting the potential use of SPARC/SPARC as a molecular therapy for muscle atrophy in the context of immobilization especially for elderly patients.

Keywords: SPARC; ageing; immobilization; muscle atrophy.

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Conflict of interest statement

The authors declare no conflict of interest.

Figures

Figure 1
Figure 1
Secreted Protein Acidic and Rich in Cysteine (SPARC/SPARC) as a muscle atrophy therapy. Situations such as hospitalization, physical disability or being bedridden represent an immobilization that might lead to muscle atrophy. Ageing (usually accompanied with a sedentary lifestyle) is another risk factor for the muscle atrophy. SPARC properties of enhancing muscles mass, strength and metabolism are towards counteracting muscle atrophy and highlight SPARC/SPARC (protein administration or gene therapy) as a molecular therapy for muscle atrophy.
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