Researchers newly explain blood supply to muscles

A recently discovered cell type is responsible for the fact that new blood vessels form particularly rapidly with physical exercise. This discovery was made by a team at the Swiss Federal Institute of Technology Zurich (ETH). Their study was published a few days ago in the scientific journal Science Direct.

Blood vessels are important for supplying the muscles. Study Leader and Professor for Exercise and Health, Katrien De Bock, is quoted in a press release by the ETH, saying: “In industrialized countries, the leading cause of surgeons having to amputate a foot or leg is impaired vascular supply to the muscles of diabetic patients.”

It is known that movement and sport encourage vascular formation, but not how. De Bock explains: “Once we understand these mechanisms, we can work towards systematically improving the blood supply of patients’ muscles.” The researchers now plan to use their results to find treatment options for patients with arterial occlusive diseases or transplanted organs to stimulate growth of muscular blood vessels. Therapeutic areas of application would be perfusion disorders in patients with diabetes, or arterial occlusive diseases, for example. The result from this research could also benefit patients with transplanted organs.

Above all, the team was pursuing the question as to why these blood vessel cells proliferate particularly rapidly with physical activity and what the molecular and cellular mechanisms leading to this activation are. By studying the cells of the vessel walls, the researchers have now been able to demonstrate that a protein inside the cell called ATF4 responds exceptionally quickly to this stimulation.

It is still not known why new vascular wall cells are above all located close to red muscle fibers. The team now plans to tackle this question as well.