The tie between alcohol and muscle strength

Researchers at Thomas Jefferson University( TJU) in Philadelphia have been studying mitochondria, the organelles in the body responsible for converting energy into forms that are usable by our cells. The article explains that in normal mitochondrial, damaged parts are segregated from the cell and replaced with properly functioning proteins donated from other healthy mitochondria. Scientists have questioned if this same process occurs in skeletal muscle, because of packed fibers and tightly squeezed mitochondrial cells found there. Veronica Eisner, a post-doctoral student at TJU has been studying if mitochondrial found in muscle could fuse to regenerate. After tagging the mitochondria in rats cells and genetically altering those mitochondria to show if fusion took place, she was surprised by the results. Mitochondrial fusion occurs in muscle cells. The major mitofusin protein, Mfn1 was the most important protein in skeletal muscles. Mfn1 was then studied to see the effects under alcohol abuse, since alcoholism is known to lead to muscle weakness. The study showed that Mfn1 went down as much as 50% in rats placed on a regular alcohol diet. This change also occurred with a massive decrease in fusion. The restoration of Mfn1 also came with the restoration of mitochondrial fusion. This shows that consistent alcohol use impacts a specific gene used in mitochondrial fusion and further research could lead to the development of drugs to help maintain Mfn1.