Understanding the protein responsible for our ‘fight or flight’ response

As humans evolved, they developed a ‘fight or flight’ response to stressful stimuli in their surrounding environment. Researchers now believe that a regulatory protein found in skeletal muscle fiber has an integral role in this survival mechanism. At the University of Cincinnati (UC; OH, USA) an investigation into the mechanism behind the fight or flight response in humans has focused on a regulatory protein – fast skeletal myosin binding protein-C (fMyBP-C) – that provides a foundation for the regulation of fast-twitch muscles. fMyBP-C regulates the contractile structure and function of the muscle fibers, and therefore the speed and force with...