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Motor neurons enable us to move and breathe by activating muscle fibres through the neuromuscular junction. But with age, the neuromuscular junction weakens, and motor neurons die, leading to an irreversible loss of muscle fibres. This is a major reason why muscles weaken with age and why older adults experience reduced functional capacity.

Current treatments in the field focus only on increasing the size of muscle fibres, while the number of muscle fibres and the role of motor neurons have been overlooked. Abigail Mackey’s earlier research has shown that cells from well-trained muscles appear to preserve motor neurons better than inactive muscles — and that training can restore nerve connections to muscle fibres. However, the precise explanation for why exercise is effective remains unknown.

In the new research project, the researchers will conduct a series of experiments on humans and transgenic mice to uncover the molecular mechanisms underlying the neuromuscular junction and to understand how it can be repaired through exercise. The ultimate goal is to develop treatments that can be used to protect the neuromuscular junction.

“I don’t believe we will ever develop a drug that can replace exercise, because exercise has many different effects on the body. But there may be situations where a person cannot exercise — for example in connection with surgery — and in those cases it would be a major advantage if we could protect the neuromuscular junction by replicating some of the effects of exercise,” says Abigail Mackey, professor of muscle physiology at the Orthopaedic Surgery Department at Bispebjerg Hospital and the Department of Clinical Medicine at the University of Copenhagen.

Read more about the granting of this year’s professorships below:

Denmark’s leading neuroscientists receive DKK 140 million for groundbreaking research

The Lundbeck Foundation is now awarding the LF Professorships 2025 to five research projects, all of which have the potential to push...