"Growing New Muscle Amphibian Style"

Taking a cue from the lowly salamander, a group of researchers led by Peter Schultz of the Scripps Research Institute in La Jolla, Calif., has isolated a compound that causes mature mouse muscle cells to disassemble into many pieces, divide into new muscle cells and then grow again. The new compound has been given the name myoseverin. This is the same mechanism used by amphibians (like salamanders) to create new muscle after the amputation of a limb. Until Schultz announced his findings, scientists didn't think the same process could create new muscle from the cells of mammals (warm-blooded animals).

The discovery of myoseverin is owed to a relatively new process called combinatorial chemistry that yields large numbers of artificial compounds, which are then screened for a specific property, such as the ability to create new muscle. Myoseverin seems to work by stimulating genes known to be involved in tissue regeneration and wound healing. This preliminary research, reported in the March issue of Nature Biotechnology, may lead to novel ways to stimulate muscle regrowth in degenerative diseases.