Major Royal Jelly Proteins promote C2C12 myotubes differentiation by improving mitochondrial function
Xin Zhang, Jinting Wei, Suchan Liao, Lingling Huang, Zhikun Bai, Yue Hu, Caiyan Yang, Bin Zhong, Yishen Gu, Biao Li, Jinhua Wang · 2026
Read Major Royal Jelly Proteins promote C2C12 myotubes differentiation by improving mitochondrial function by Xin Zhang, Jinting Wei, Suchan Liao, Lingling Huang, Zhikun Bai, Yue Hu, Caiyan Yang, Bin Zhong, Yishen Gu, Biao Li, Jinhua Wang (2026) in the Tower of Babel, a free online library of public-domain works preserved in clean, searchable text. No sign-up. The full text is served as a plain-text file at a predictable URL, where text is present: https://antarctic-labs.com/tower-of-babel/pmc-12812747.txt.
Description
Xin Zhang and co-authors test whether bee food's proteins can build muscle in a dish. Their 2025 study treats mouse muscle cells with major royal jelly proteins, the active fraction of the supplement bees feed their queen. Muscle loss is tied to failing mitochondria, so the team tracked both cell differentiation and mitochondrial health.
Treated cells formed denser, longer myotubes and switched on the muscle-building genes. The proteins reduced cell death, raised cleanup activity, and spurred new mitochondria while protecting their membranes. One limit stood out: the proteins could not reverse drug-induced muscle wasting once established. The profile that emerges is developmental support, not rescue. Royal jelly supplements are marketed loosely; this paper gives one of their claims a cellular mechanism and a clear boundary. Whether organisms see the same benefit is the open question the authors leave behind.
Catalog record
| CREATOR | Xin Zhang, Jinting Wei, Suchan Liao, Lingling Huang, Zhikun Bai, Yue Hu, Caiyan Yang, Bin Zhong, Yishen Gu, Biao Li, Jinhua Wang |
|---|---|
| YEAR | 2026 |
| COLLECTION | PAPERS |
| FORMAT | TXT |
| FILE SIZE | 40 KB |
| VERSION | 1.0 |
| LICENSE | CC BY 4.0 |
| RIGHTS | CC BY |
| SOURCE | Europe PMC |