Molecular Mechanisms of Muscle Fatigue

Dear Colleagues,

Large parts of the global population have recently been exposed to the still unabated COVID-19 coronavirus. While the percentage of people recovering from virus exposure without significant ill-health symptoms or side effects is fortunately high, However, some survivors (10%) experience a syndrome that includes long-term debilitating extreme tiredness (fatigue), pulmonary (shortness of breath, chest pain or tightness), and mental difficulties.

The prime sites of fatigue seem to be within the muscle cell itself and, for the most part, do not implicate the central nervous system or the neuromuscular junction. The British NICE guideline scope (October 2020) defines post-COVID syndrome as signs consistent with symptoms that develop during or following an infection. This condition is well known to be positively associated with muscle wasting.

Muscle atrophy can also occur after long periods of inactivity in association with poor nutrition. When muscle wasting occurs, muscles become less bulky and floppier. Each muscle fibre is just as strong, but there are not so many of them so, collectively, they do not contract as effectively. This easily leads to exhaustion when one tries to do things that would have been easier when the muscles were fit. Fortunately, with regular controlled exercise regimes, pharmacological intervention, and sensible dieting, the condition is reversible even with increasing age, albeit to a lower degree than for younger generations.

By validating the recognized inflammation/infection-related molecular mechanisms underlying muscle fatigue/waste, one could then apply sensible pharmacological, physiological (e.g., targeted exercise regimen) or nutritional interventions aimed at increasing muscle mass and regaining of muscle strength. This special issue welcomes both original research articles and comprehensive reviews (4000+ words) related to the topic.

Dr. Dumitru Constantin-Teodosiu
Guest Editor

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• infection
• inflammation
• protein catabolism
• muscle wasting
• energy metabolism
• muscle mass
• muscle signalling pathway
• muscle hypertrophy interventions