Although it is empirically known that exercise has health benefits, little is known about its mechanism.Recent studies have shown that exercise secretes a hormone-like substance called myokine, but myokine also contains many substances with unknown effects.This time, a group at Tohoku University has developed an organic electrode wrapped in muscle cells and succeeded in demonstrating an example of the action of myokine.
What we have developed this time is a stretchable organic electrode wire made of a composite of conductive polymer PEDOT and polyurethane wrapped in muscle cells.Since the electrodes have a high capacity, the intensity and frequency of muscle exercise can be freely controlled by safe electrical stimulation that does not damage cells.
Using this muscle-electrode wire, the research group demonstrated how myokines released during exercise attract leukocytes. When leukocytes were placed between the two muscle-electrode wires and stimulated only the muscle cells on one side, the leukocytes migrated in that direction.It has been suggested that even in actual muscles, there is a muscle / immune cell network that secretes myokine into the blood by exercise to attract immune cells, suppress inflammation, and improve insulin action on muscles.
It is said that myokine regulates the health of the whole body and produces a therapeutic effect on various diseases such as obesity and diabetes.This result is expected to lead to the elucidation of the mechanism of health effects of exercise and the development of exercise pills (drugs that bring about exercise effects).In addition, since the electrode developed this time is also effective for electrical stimulation of cells other than muscle, it is expected to contribute to cyborg technology that electrically controls systemic human functions in the future.
Paper information:[Scientific Reports] Contractile Skeletal Muscle Cells Cultured with a Conducting Soft Wire for Effective, Selective Stimulation
