Kyushu LASSS Discovery Targets Muscle Loss in India's 347 Million Elderly by 2050

India's population aged 60 and above stands at 153 million today and is projected to reach 347 million by 2050, nearly 20.8 percent of the total population. Japanese researchers at Kyushu University have identified lipoic acid trisulfide, or LASSS, a sulfur-based compound that protects the muscle repair signal carried by hepatocyte growth factor from age-related chemical damage. The findings, published July 24, 2026 in Scientific Reports, arrive as sarcopenia prevalence reaches 43.6 percent among Indian adults over 60.

Kyushu LASSS Discovery Targets Muscle Loss in India's 347 Million Elderly by 2050

New Delhi, India – August 6, 2026 — Kyushu University scientists have shown that lipoic acid trisulfide can restore and even enhance the function of hepatocyte growth factor, offering a potential new route to slow the muscle decline that afflicts a large share of India's older adults.

The Molecular Sabotage Behind Ageing Muscles

Hepatocyte growth factor activates satellite cells through the c-met receptor to initiate muscle repair after exercise or injury. With advancing age, nitro groups attach to tyrosine residues at positions Y198 and Y250 on the HGF molecule, sharply reducing its ability to bind c-met. The protein remains present in tissue yet fails to transmit its repair signal, allowing damage to accumulate especially in fast-twitch fibres. Loss of functional HGF also permits increased fibrosis and fat infiltration, accelerating the transition from healthy muscle to scarred, weaker tissue.

HGF is stored in the extracellular matrix surrounding muscle fibres and is released by exercise, injury or mechanical stimulation. Once freed, it binds c-met receptors on dormant satellite cells, triggering them to awaken, multiply, mature and repair or enlarge muscle fibres. Nitration adds nitro groups at two sites inside the region that binds c-met. This modification accumulates particularly in fast-twitch fibres, which generate the explosive force needed to rise quickly, catch a fall or climb stairs, thereby disabling the repair signal in the very fibres most vulnerable to age-related loss.

HGF also restrains cells involved in fibrosis and fat accumulation. When nitration disables HGF, the restraint is lifted, allowing scar tissue and fat infiltration to develop within muscle. The result is visibly altered ageing muscle: increased connective tissue and lipid deposits replace functional fibres, while weakened fast-twitch capacity reduces explosive power. This dual disruption of repair signalling and anti-fibrotic control therefore accelerates the structural and functional decline seen in sarcopenia.

LASSS: The Compound That Exceeded Expectations

Researchers tested glutathione trisulfide and lipoic acid trisulfide at molar ratios of 1:4000 and 1:8000. At the higher ratio, LASSS not only suppressed nitration at both vulnerable sites on HGF but produced an enhanced form of the protein that bound c-met with far greater affinity. Glutathione trisulfide suppressed nitration yet did not increase receptor affinity. Professor Ryuichi Tatsumi noted that HGF is not necessarily missing as people age; rather, it can be chemically altered after it is made. He described the outcome as exceeding expectations and suggested LASSS may induce a subtle structural change that creates a "Super HGF" resistant to nitration.

Trisulfides contain three consecutively linked sulfur atoms whose unusual chemistry enables participation in redox reactions, attracting growing pharmaceutical interest. At a 1:4000 molar ratio both GSSSG and LASSS suppressed nitration yet neither fully restored c-met binding. At 1:8000, LASSS enabled HGF to bind c-met with more than twice the affinity of untreated HGF while increasing resistance to nitration, especially at Y198. GSSSG produced no comparable enhancement, demonstrating that the effect arises from specific LASSS-HGF interaction rather than general antioxidant strength.

LASSS appears to interact directly with HGF and alter the protein’s local structure without disrupting its ability to activate satellite cells or support their growth. This creates a form of “super HGF” that remains functional even under nitrative stress. The failure of GSSSG underscores that raw antioxidant power is insufficient; only the precise molecular engagement delivered by LASSS yields the structural change and functional protection observed.

From Lab Bench to Mouse Model

In a tail-suspension model of muscle atrophy, mice pretreated with LASSS showed significantly lower levels of nitrated HGF than untreated controls. Glutathione trisulfide provided no comparable protection. The study has not yet advanced to human trials, and older mice have not been tested. Researchers state the underlying mechanism is likely conserved across mammals, including companion animals, but longer-duration studies remain necessary before any clinical application.

What This Means for India

The Longitudinal Ageing Study in India, which examined 26,780 adults aged 60 and above, recorded a 43.6 percent sarcopenia prevalence and 19.4 percent severe sarcopenia prevalence using Asian Working Group criteria. Risk factors identified include widowed or divorced status, joint disease, hypertension, chronic lung disease, stroke, tooth loss, sensory impairment, prior falls and depression. India's National Programme for Health Care of the Elderly and Ayushman Bharat currently focus on tertiary care and insurance coverage, yet the country faces a severe shortage of trained geriatricians and limited integration of protein-rich nutrition strategies into primary care. A compound that protects existing repair pathways rather than requiring new tissue growth could reduce future hospital admissions for falls and frailty, easing pressure on both state health budgets and family caregivers.

India’s 60+ population stood at 153 million in 2023 and is projected to reach 347 million by 2050, representing approximately 20.8 percent of the total population and doubling the elderly share. Sarcopenia in this expanding group imposes heavy costs on families through increased caregiver burden and falls that frequently result in hip fractures and prolonged hospitalisation. A severe shortage of trained geriatricians limits clinical response, while many Indian diets fall short of ICMR-NIN protein guidelines, leaving older adults with inadequate nutritional support for muscle maintenance.

A preventive compound approach that protects existing HGF signalling aligns with Ayushman Bharat’s emphasis on preventive care. By targeting nitration before irreversible fibrosis and fat infiltration occur, such an intervention could reduce downstream medical expenses and help preserve mobility and independence across India’s rapidly ageing population.

The Road Ahead

Next steps include extended animal studies, tests in older mice, and eventual human verification of safety and dosing. Beyond age-related decline, the approach may apply wherever muscle waste accelerates during prolonged illness or long periods of immobility. Indian research institutions could explore partnerships to adapt the chemistry for local dietary or pharmaceutical contexts.

The researchers stated that the present work encourages additional in vivo research on the potential application of LASSS in extracellular HGF nitration-dysfunction during aging. Longer-duration studies and tests in older mice remain necessary before human verification. Comparable forms of HGF exist in humans and other mammals, suggesting the mechanism could apply to people and companion animals such as cats and dogs, helping preserve mobility during aging or prolonged inactivity.

Applications extend beyond normal aging to periods of bed rest, prolonged illness or spaceflight. The paradigm shift lies in protecting an existing repair signal rather than attempting to replace a missing growth factor. Indian institutions including ICMR, AIIMS and IIT could form partnerships to advance translational research on LASSS for these contexts.

The Bottom Line

With India's over-60 population set to nearly double within a generation, a low-cost intervention that maintains HGF function would deliver measurable returns in mobility, fewer falls and lower long-term care costs. The Kyushu data provide a clear mechanistic target; translating it into Indian public-health practice now requires coordinated geriatric research and nutrition policy action.

— By Dr. Raj Patel, Staff Writer

This article was produced with AI-assisted research and editorial support. Reporting is based on sources cited in the article.