PRESS-NEWS.org - Press Release Distribution
PRESS RELEASES DISTRIBUTION

Apple peel makes mice mighty

Ursolic acid -- a waxy substance found in apple peel -- reduces muscle wasting and promotes muscle growth in mice; it also reduces fat, blood sugar levels, cholesterol and triglycerides in the animals

2011-06-08
(Press-News.org) For Popeye, spinach was the key to extra muscle. For the mice in a new University of Iowa study, it was apples, or more precisely a waxy substance called ursolic acid that's found in apple peel.

The UI study, published in the June 8 issue of the journal Cell Metabolism, showed that ursolic acid reduced muscle atrophy (also known as muscle wasting) and promoted muscle growth in mice. It also reduced fat, blood sugar levels, cholesterol and triglycerides in the animals. The findings suggest that the compound may be useful for treating muscle wasting and possibly metabolic disorders such as diabetes.

"Muscle atrophy causes big problems. It's also very common -- it affects most people at some point in their lives, during illness or aging. But, there's no medicine for it," said Christopher Adams, M.D., Ph.D., UI endocrinologist and senior author of the study. "We studied muscle gene activity in people with atrophy and used that information to find chemicals that might block atrophy. One of those chemicals was especially interesting. It's called ursolic acid and it's particularly concentrated in apple peels.

"The old saying goes that 'an apple a day keeps the doctor away.' So, we tested ursolic acid in mice, and found that it increased the size and strength of their muscles," Adams added. "It did this by helping two hormones that build muscle: insulin-like growth factor-1 (IGF1) and insulin. Because ursolic acid increased muscle, it reduced muscle atrophy. Surprisingly, it had some other beneficial effects in mice: for example, it reduced body fat, and lowered blood glucose and cholesterol."

Adams and colleagues homed in on ursolic acid by using connectivity maps, a relatively new technique that compares gene expression patterns in cells under different conditions. The team determined which genes are turned on or off in human muscle during atrophy and compared that pattern with gene expression patterns in cultured cell lines treated with a library of different compounds. They discovered that one of those compounds -- ursolic acid -- causes a pattern of gene expression that is the opposite of the pattern caused by atrophy. This suggested that ursolic acid might reverse atrophy.

In follow-up experiments, the researchers proved that mice fed ursolic acid were indeed protected from muscle atrophy caused by both fasting and nerve damage. Furthermore, healthy mice fed ursolic acid developed larger, stronger muscles than mice that did not receive the compound.

The study suggests that ursolic acid's ability to both inhibit muscle wasting and promote muscle growth stems from its ability to influence IGF1. This hormone, and its close cousin insulin, both bind to receptors on muscle cells setting off a cascade of cellular pathways that either enhance muscle growth or block atrophy. Ursolic acid appears to increase the activity of the receptors for IGF1 and insulin, amplifying the beneficial effects of these hormones in muscle.

Interestingly, although ursolic acid increased muscle weight in mice, it did not increase total body weight, and further investigation showed that mice fed ursolic acid had less body fat than mice that were not fed the compound.

Adams and his colleagues now hope to move the research toward human trials.

INFORMATION:

In addition to Adams, the UI research team included Steven Kunkel, M.D., Manish Suneja, M.D., Scott Ebert, Kale Bongers, Daniel Fox, Sharon Malmberg, Fariborz Alipour, Ph.D., Richard Shields, Ph.D., and Michael Welsh, M.D.

The study was funded by the Doris Duke Charitable Foundation, the National Institutes of Health, the Department of Veterans Affairs, the American Diabetes Association, the UI Institute for Clinical and Translational Science, the UI Research Foundation and the University of Iowa Fraternal Order of Eagles Diabetes Research Center.

STORY SOURCE: University of Iowa Health Care Media Relations, 200 Hawkins Drive, Room W319 GH, Iowa City, Iowa 52242-1009

MEDIA CONTACT: Jennifer Brown, 319-356-7124, jennifer-l-brown@uiowa.edu

END



ELSE PRESS RELEASES FROM THIS DATE:

UCSF finds new bee viruses, offers baseline to study colony collapse

2011-06-08
A 10-month study of healthy honey bees by University of California, San Francisco scientists has identified four new viruses that infect bees, while revealing that each of the viruses or bacteria previously linked to colony collapse is present in healthy hives as well. The study followed 20 colonies in a commercial beekeeping operation of more than 70,000 hives as they were transported across the country pollinating crops, to answer one basic question: what viruses and bacteria exist in a normal colony throughout the year? The results depict a distinct pattern of infections ...

Bone cancer, from the lab to the clinic

2011-06-08
A new study into osteosarcoma - cancer of the bone - will use advances in genomic research and analysis to identify new genes that give rise to the condition and to create personalised blood tests for children and young adults with the condition. The study is funded by Skeletal Action Cancer Trust, SCAT. It is hoped that the results of this new study will help doctors improve treatment of this difficult disease through better diagnosis and monitoring of this bone cancer. Each year approximately 80 children and young adults develop osteosarcoma in the UK. This painful ...

Cuts are likely to hit charities harder than expected

2011-06-08
Around one third of voluntary and charitable organisations in England receive public money to support their work and over 20,000 organisations say that the public sector is their most important source of income according to initial findings of research funded by the Economic and Social Research Council (ESRC). "It is very clear that public funding is more important to voluntary organisations than previously thought," says Professor John Mohan of the Third Sector Research Centre, who led the study. "And this is particularly true for those organisations working in deprived ...

Chernobyl revisited: Virtual issue explores ecological effects of nuclear disasters

2011-06-08
The decision of the German government to phase out nuclear power by 2022 has reopened an energy debate that has far wider implications than Germany or Japan, which is still coming to terms with events at the damaged Fukushima plant. This virtual issue, published by the SETAC journal Environmental Toxicology and Chemistry adds to that debate by exploring the ecological effects of radiation, using research from the Chernobyl disaster. The issue is a freely accessible resource for researchers that offers a historical precedent for considering the long-term environmental ...

Fetal exposure to BPA changes development of uterus in primates

2011-06-08
Exposure in the womb to bisphenol A (BPA), a chemical widely used in the food and medical industries, causes changes in female primates' uterus development, new research suggests. The results will be presented Tuesday at The Endocrine Society's 93rd Annual Meeting in Boston. "Previous studies have shown that BPA can affect the reproductive tract. However, because the studies were done in rodents, it was uncertain if this would also be true in humans," said Carmen Williams, MD, PhD, a clinical investigator with the National Institute of Environmental Sciences (NIEHS), ...

Older age does not cause testosterone levels to decline in healthy men

2011-06-08
A decline in testosterone levels as men grow older is likely the result—not the cause—of deteriorating general health, say Australian scientists, whose new study finds that age, in itself, has no effect on testosterone level in healthy older men. The results, to be presented Tuesday at The Endocrine Society's 93rd Annual Meeting in Boston, are the first findings released from the Healthy Man Study, according to principal investigator David Handelsman, MD, PhD, professor and director of the ANZAC Research Institute at the University of Sydney. "Some researchers believe ...

Excessive pregnancy weight gain raises the risk of having a fat baby

2011-06-08
Women who gain too much weight during pregnancy tend to have newborns with a high amount of body fat, regardless of the mother's weight before pregnancy, a new study finds. The results will be presented Tuesday at The Endocrine Society's 93rd Annual Meeting in Boston. High fat at birth is a possible risk factor for childhood obesity, said the study's principal investigator, Jami Josefson, MD, a pediatric endocrinologist at Chicago's Children's Memorial Hospital and assistant professor at Northwestern University Feinberg School of Medicine. "Previous studies have shown ...

Teens with type 2 diabetes already show possible signs of impaired heart function

2011-06-08
Heart function may be affected in people with Type 2 diabetes as early as adolescence, according to a new study that will be presented Sunday at The Endocrine Society's 93rd Annual Meeting in Boston. "Past studies in adults with Type 2 diabetes show that their heart and blood vessels' ability to adapt to exercise may be impaired. Our study shows that these changes in heart function may begin to happen very early after Type 2 diabetes occurs," said the study's lead author, Teresa Pinto, MD, a pediatric endocrinologist at the Dalhousie University IWK Health Centre in Halifax, ...

Study: What mom thinks matters when it comes to mental illness

2011-06-08
WASHINGTON, DC, June 7, 2011 — A new study led by a Northern Illinois University sociologist shows that while family members often provide critical support, they also can sometimes be the source of stigmatizing attitudes that impede the recovery of mentally ill relatives. "Negative attitudes of family members have the potential to affect the ways that mentally ill persons view themselves, adversely influencing the likelihood of recovery from the illness," said lead researcher Fred Markowitz, an NIU professor of sociology. Markowitz and his colleagues, Beth Angell from ...

Cash talks when overbooked hotel guests walk

2011-06-08
Cash bonuses can help hotel operators lure back disappointed customers who were displaced during overbooking snags, according to Penn State researchers. In an experiment, participants said they were more satisfied with cash compensation than a voucher if they lost stays at a hotel due to overbooking, said Breffni Noone, assistant professor of hospitality management. "A lot of people in the hotel industry ask the question: 'What do I do to compensate customers who have been turned away because of overbooking?' " said Noone. "The results suggest cash-based overcompensation ...

LAST 30 PRESS RELEASES:

Multi-resistance in bacteria predicted by AI model

Tinker Tots: A citizen science project to explore ethical dilemmas in embryo selection

Sensing sickness

Cost to build multifamily housing in California more than twice as high as in Texas

Program takes aim at drinking, unsafe sex, and sexual assault on college campuses

Inability to pay for healthcare reaches record high in U.S.

Science ‘storytelling’ urgently needed amid climate and biodiversity crisis

KAIST Develops Retinal Therapy to Restore Lost Vision​

Adipocyte-hepatocyte signaling mechanism uncovered in endoplasmic reticulum stress response

Mammals were adapting from life in the trees to living on the ground before dinosaur-killing asteroid

Low LDL cholesterol levels linked to reduced risk of dementia

Thickening of the eye’s retina associated with greater risk and severity of postoperative delirium in older patients

Almost one in ten people surveyed report having been harmed by the NHS in the last three years

Enhancing light control with complex frequency excitations

New research finds novel drug target for acute myeloid leukemia, bringing hope for cancer patients

New insight into factors associated with a common disease among dogs and humans

Illuminating single atoms for sustainable propylene production

New study finds Rocky Mountain snow contamination

Study examines lactation in critically ill patients

UVA Engineering Dean Jennifer West earns AIMBE’s 2025 Pierre Galletti Award

Doubling down on metasurfaces

New Cedars-Sinai study shows how specialized diet can improve gut disorders

Making moves and hitting the breaks: Owl journeys surprise researchers in western Montana

PKU Scientists simulate the origin and evolution of the North Atlantic Oscillation

ICRAFT breakthrough: Unlocking A20’s dual role in cancer immunotherapy

How VR technology is changing the game for Alzheimer’s disease

A borrowed bacterial gene allowed some marine diatoms to live on a seaweed diet

Balance between two competing nerve proteins deters symptoms of autism in mice

Use of antifungals in agriculture may increase resistance in an infectious yeast

Awareness grows of cancer risk from alcohol consumption, survey finds

[Press-News.org] Apple peel makes mice mighty
Ursolic acid -- a waxy substance found in apple peel -- reduces muscle wasting and promotes muscle growth in mice; it also reduces fat, blood sugar levels, cholesterol and triglycerides in the animals