In a new study published in Bone Research, researchers from Tokyo Medical and Dental University (TMDU) developed a novel drug screening system to identify a compound that mimics the changes in muscle and bone that occur as a result of exercise. Using the screening system, the researchers identified the aminoindazole derivative locamidazole (LAMZ). LAMZ was capable of stimulating the growth of muscle cells and bone-forming cells (osteoblasts), while suppressing the growth of bone-resorbing cells (osteoclasts).
When LAMZ was administrated to mice orally, it was successfully transmitted into the blood, without obvious side effects. “We were pleased to find that LAMZ-treated mice exhibited larger muscle fiber width, greater maximal muscle strength, a higher rate of bone formation, and lower bone resorption activity,” says lead author of the study Takehito Ono.
Open Access Research Paper:
Simultaneous augmentation of muscle and bone by locomomimetism through calcium-PGC-1α signaling
Bone Research (2022). DOI: 10.1038/s41413-022-00225-w