The clinical impact and biological mechanisms of skeletal muscle aging

Skeletal muscle is a highly plastic tissue that remarkably adapts to diverse stimuli including exercise, injury, disuse, and, as discussed here, aging. Humans achieve peak skeletal muscle mass and strength in mid-life and then experience a progressive decline of up to 50% by the ninth decade. The lo...

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:Bone (New York, N.Y.) N.Y.), 2019-10, Vol.127, p.26-36
Main Authors: Aversa, Zaira, Zhang, Xu, Fielding, Roger A., Lanza, Ian, LeBrasseur, Nathan K.
Format: Article
Language:English
Subjects:
Aging - physiology
Autophagy
Cellular Senescence
Exercise
Humans
Mitochondria
Mitochondria - metabolism
Muscle, Skeletal - physiology
Physical function
Sarcopenia
Senescence
Stem Cells - metabolism
Strength
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Summary:Skeletal muscle is a highly plastic tissue that remarkably adapts to diverse stimuli including exercise, injury, disuse, and, as discussed here, aging. Humans achieve peak skeletal muscle mass and strength in mid-life and then experience a progressive decline of up to 50% by the ninth decade. The loss of muscle mass and function with aging is a phenomenon termed sarcopenia. It is evidenced by the loss and atrophy of muscle fibers and the concomitant accretion of fat and fibrous tissue. Sarcopenia has been recognized as a key driver of limitations in physical function and mobility, but is perhaps less appreciated for its role in age-related metabolic dysfunction and loss of organismal resilience. Similar to other tissues, muscle is prone to multiple forms of age-related molecular and cellular damage, including disrupted protein turnover, impaired regenerative capacity, cellular senescence, and mitochondrial dysfunction. The objective of this review is to highlight the clinical consequences of skeletal muscle aging, and provide insights into potential biological mechanisms. In light of population aging, strategies to improve muscle health in older adults promise to have a profound public health impact. •Muscle mass and cellular composition are altered with advancing age.•Muscle aging negatively affects physical function, metabolism, and resilience.•Diverse forms of age-related molecular and cellular damage drive muscle aging.•New interventions targeting hallmarks of aging may benefit late-life muscle health.•Notably, exercise effectively counters muscle aging and its consequences.
ISSN:8756-3282
1873-2763
1873-2763
DOI:10.1016/j.bone.2019.05.021