According to a recent study published in the journal Science an innovative method of cell communication that regulates muscle recovery has been discovered. The study′s results demonstrated that hyaluronic acid, which occurs naturally, assisted stem cells in their collaboration with immune cells to finish the healing process and ensure the prompt clearance of dead tissue before producing new muscle fibres.

The immune cells keep the stem cells in a resting condition while they complete the cleansing task. When the cleansing process is complete, which takes around 40 hours, an internal alarm in the muscle stem cells activates, triggering the healing process′s beginning. Scientists have identified hyaluronic acid as the essential component of this internal alarm clock. Stem cells begin to produce hyaluronic acid and wrap themselves with it when muscle injury occurs. When the coating is sufficiently thick, it prevents the sleep signal from the immune cells, causing the muscle stem cells to get activated. 

The scientists also noted that producing hyaluronic acid by muscle stem cells seems necessary for it to have a restorative impact. Additionally, they studied mouse and human tissues to learn how epigenetic markers on the Has2 gene are employed by muscle stem cells to regulate the generation of hyaluronic acid. The team is investigating whether medications that alter the muscle stem cells′ epigenetics can be utilized to boost their production of hyaluronic acid. (News Medical.net, Aug 4 2022)