Protein Pushes Damaged Muscle Toward Repair

Researchers at the University of Pittsburgh and Children’s Hospital of Pittsburgh have found that treating distressed muscles with a protein called decorin prevents scar tissue formation and improves regeneration and repair.

The team included Xiao Xiao and Johnny Huard, both of whom had MDA funding for related work from 2002 to 2005.

In a paper published online July 3 in Molecular Therapy, Yong Li and colleagues describe test-tube experiments and mouse experiments showing that decorin increases production of proteins related to muscle regeneration and decreases production of myostatin, a protein known to limit muscle-fiber growth. They also found that decorin neutralizes the effects of a protein that stimulates scar tissue formation.

Mice with a disease resembling Duchenne muscular dystrophy (DMD) showed better muscle regeneration and less scar tissue formation in muscles that had been treated with decorin genes than they showed in their untreated muscles.

“It is possible that decorin increases muscle fiber growth and limits the overgrowth of connective tissues,” the researchers write. “These findings indicate that decorin could be very useful in promoting the healing of muscles damaged by injury or disease.”