Radiation-induced impairment of skeletal muscle regeneration
Artikel-Kategorie: Research Article
Online veröffentlicht: 05. Sept. 2025
Seitenbereich: 293 - 300
Eingereicht: 09. Juli 2025
Akzeptiert: 16. Juli 2025
DOI: https://doi.org/10.2478/raon-2025-0048
Schlüsselwörter
© 2025 Maja Cemazar et al., published by Sciendo
This work is licensed under the Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License.
Background
Radiotherapy is a cornerstone of treatment for various cancers, but often causes collateral damage to surrounding healthy tissue, including skeletal muscle. Ionizing radiation leads to oxidative stress and inflammation, which impairs the regenerative capacity of muscle tissue. Irradiation reduces the number and functionality of satellite cells and disrupts the tightly regulated processes of myogenesis and tissue remodelling. In addition, irradiation alters the muscle microenvironment by promoting fibrosis and vascular damage, which further impedes effective regeneration. Cytokine signalling pathways are also dysregulated following irradiation, contributing to impaired activation and differentiation of satellite cells.
Conclusions
There is evidence that factors such as melatonin and growth factors can improve muscle regeneration. Understanding the molecular and cellular mechanisms underlying the impairment of muscle regeneration after radiotherapy is crucial for the development of targeted strategies to mitigate side effects and improve patients’ quality of life. Overall, the preservation and restoration of muscle function in irradiated tissue remains a critical challenge that requires multidisciplinary approaches.