Researchers have described a new selective target in muscle regeneration. This is the association of alpha-enolase protein and plasmin, findings which could be used to develop new treatments to regenerate muscular injuries or dystrophies. 

Skeletal muscle has a great regeneration capacity after injury or genetic diseases, such as Duchenne muscular dystrophy, the most common neuromuscular disorder in children. This condition is due to a defect in the dystrophin gene, which absence causes instability of the membrane and leads to degeneration of muscle fibers. Regeneration involves the restructuration of the muscular tissue and it requires the participation of extracellular enzymes such as plasmin.



The researchers observed in the laboratory that these stem cells lost the ability to activate and merge to form skeletal muscle fibers when specific inhibitors of the alpha-enolasa/plasmina union were applied.




Citation: Díaz-Ramos À, Roig-Borrellas A, García-Melero A, Llorens A, López-Alemany R (2012) Requirement of Plasminogen Binding to Its Cell-Surface Receptor α-Enolase for Efficient Regeneration of Normal and Dystrophic Skeletal Muscle. PLoS ONE 7(12): e50477. doi:10.1371/journal.pone.0050477