Muscle fibers have several features that make them unique (hello, Arnold Schwarzenegger!). Studying these fibers and their distinctive properties may help uncover solutions for degenerative diseases and aging.

One of the research lines focusing on DNA damage, led by Sérgio de Almeida’s laboratory (in collaboration with Edgar Gomes’s lab), has been awarded €200,000 in funding by AFM-Telethon — the French Muscular Dystrophy Association, primarily financed through public phone-in donations.

The funding secured by the GIMM team will ensure the continuation of “a highly relevant line of research with the potential to generate knowledge with concrete implications for human health,” says Sérgio de Almeida. Additionally, the group leader highlights that it “provides the necessary stability to retain extremely talented researchers in the team.”

In particular, the team aims to understand how these cells — which have multiple nuclei, do not divide, and therefore cannot be easily replaced — are able to withstand frequent stress and damage. A key clue that may explain the remarkable resilience of muscle fibers is their exceptional ability to repair DNA damage, equipping them with a highly effective self-preservation strategy.

Previously, the team discovered that muscle cells respond to DNA lesions using a mechanism that makes them particularly resilient and capable of maintaining their function intact. Now, the researchers aim to uncover the details of this mechanism and the role that nearby stem cells might play in the regeneration process.

DNA damage is a key factor in muscle aging, dystrophies and other degenerative diseases. By understanding how muscle naturally responds to such damage, we can harness these mechanisms to develop new strategies to delay or reverse muscle degeneration during aging, improve regeneration in genetic muscle diseases, and enhance recovery after injury. The project will begin on November 1st and will run for two years.