Moving Mountains: Recent Feats in Muscle Physiology
As we March towards the 2024 American Physiology Summit, this month’s publication review covers recent advancements in the realm of muscle physiology, including the development of an improved resistance training method, the long-term musculoskeletal consequences of chemotherapy, and the characterization of crossbridge kinetics in cardiac trabeculae. Taken together, these studies reveal a promising trend of breakthroughs in muscle physiology.
2024 Spring/Summer Scientific Conferences and Meetings
The Aurora Scientific team is continuing to journey out and connect with researchers at scientific conferences and meetings all over the world this spring and summer! We are particularly thrilled to be able to meet face-to-face with you all.
Muscle weakness precedes atrophy during cancer cachexia and is linked to muscle-specific mitochondrial stress
Cancer-induced cachexia is a complex syndrome marked by skeletal muscle mass loss, impacting functional independence, quality of life, and cancer treatment outcomes. While muscle wasting has traditionally been attributed to circulating factors, recent research revealing mitochondrial dysfunction preceding the onset of muscle atrophy suggests it may play a role. Understanding the muscle-specific and time-dependent nature of mitochondrial responses to cancer may offer insights for targeted therapeutic interventions to mitigate muscle weakness and wasting in cachexia. This study examines the relationship between muscle dysfunction and mitochondrial bioenergetics in locomotor and respiratory muscles, revealing diverse responses that underscore the need for tailored approaches to treating muscle complications in cancer cachexia.
MYTHO is a novel regulator of skeletal muscle autophagy and integrity
The study identifies a novel FoxO-dependent gene called Mytho (Macroautophagy and YouTH Optimizer) as a regulator of autophagy and skeletal
Blocking muscle wasting via deletion of the muscle-specific E3 ligase MuRF1 impedes pancreatic tumor growth
Cancer-induced muscle wasting significantly impacts quality of life, hinders cancer treatments, and predicts early mortality. This study explores the role
Microdystrophin Gene Addition Significantly Improves Muscle Functionality and Diaphragm Muscle Histopathology in a Fibrotic Mouse Model of Duchenne Muscular Dystrophy
This study investigates the effectiveness of adeno-associated viral (AAV) vector-mediated microdystrophin gene addition therapy in a fibrotic mouse model of
In Vivo Measurement of Hindlimb Dorsiflexor Isometric Torque from Pig
The present protocol describes concise experimental details on the evaluation and interpretation of in vivo torque data obtained via electrical stimulation of the common peroneal nerve in anesthetized pigs.
Out of This World Research at Brock University: Space Flight’s Impact on Female Mice Reproductive Health
NASA's SpaceX CRS-29 launched on November 9th carrying the Rodent Research-20 (RR-20) payload, the contents of which will be studied by Brock University's Dr. Val Fajardo and his team using Aurora Scientific equipment upon its return.
Cancer Cachexia-Induced Muscle Atrophy
Cancer cachexia is a muscle wasting syndrome that is associated with certain cancers, but most commonly with advanced malignancies. This syndrome arises as a result of tumor-induced metabolic changes, causing the body to break down skeletal muscle and adipose tissue in response to nutritional deficiencies. These changes manifest as severe weight loss, anorexia, asthenia, and anemia, impairing the patient's capacity to tolerate infections, chemotherapy, and radiation treatments (Dhanapal et al., 2022). While research characterizing the multifactorial origins of this syndrome is still ongoing, three recent publications featuring our scientific equipment have made notable advances in the current understanding of this muscle wasting disease, and are discussed in this publication review.
Recent Therapeutic Advances in Duchenne Muscular Dystrophy (DMD) Models
The following publication review showcases recent studies focused on therapeutic advances in Duchenne Muscular Dystrophy (DMD) that use Aurora Scientific equipment.
Exercise Science
Aurora Scientific equipment has played important roles in helping researchers understand muscle physiology under a variety of conditions in animal models as highlighted in this publication review.
Designing an in-vivo study in DMC LabBook
This blog will provide a walkthrough of how to design a study in our Dynamic Muscle Control (DMC) LabBook software, specifically for 1300A 3-in-1 Whole Animal System in-vivo experiments.