Myokines are messenger substances with hormone-like activity in the organism that are released by the muscles of mammals during movement and contraction.
The name derives from the Greek words “myo” – muscle – and “kinema” – movement. Since 2007, so-called myokines have been described in specialist circles as a subtype of the interleukins (IL-x), peptide hormones belonging to the cytokines. By definition, myokines are endogenous messenger substances produced specifically by muscle cells in response to a stimulus. Their discovery goes back to the Centre of Inflammation and Metabolism, Department of Infectious Diseases and Copenhagen Muscle Research Centre, Rigshospitalet, University of Copenhagen, Faculty of Health Sciences, in Denmark. Around 400 different proteins have been described, not all of which have been fully researched, so they represent a current field of research in cell biology. Various functions are attributed to myokines. The not yet fully researched functions of myokines also include the promotion of angiogenesis in the brain. This finding suggests that the muscular system could play a significant role in the prevention of Alzheimer’s disease.
Sources:
– C. Brandt, B. K. Pedersen: The role of exercise-induced myokines in muscle homeostasis and the defense against chronic diseases. In: Journal of biomedicine & biotechnology. Vol. 2010, 2010, p. 520258, ISSN 1110-7251. doi:10.1155/2010/520258. PMID 20224659. PMC 2836182 (free full text). (Review).
– Bente Klarlund Pedersen, Thorbjörn C. A. Åkerström, Anders R. Nielsen and Christian P. Fischer: Role of myokines in exercise and metabolism. (PDF; 69 kB) In: J Appl Physiol 103:1093-1098, 2007. doi:10.1152/japplphysiol.00080.2007
