Discipline: Biological Sciences
Subcategory: Cell and Molecular Biology
Session: 1
Room: Marriott Balcony A
Laureen Daniels - Bowie State University
Co-Author(s): Mone’t Thompson and Sarah F. Fernandes Bowie State University, MD
Sarcopenia, the critical loss of muscle mass and function due to the physiological process of aging, contributes to disability and mortality in older adults. Sarcopenia is a major health problem for people over 80 years old, the loss of muscle mass begins around the age of 50. Moreover, sarcopenic muscles exhibit an exaggerated atrophic response to disuse. Upon disuse, it is known that the skeletal muscle cells of young organisms have a reduction in cross-sectional area (CSA) while the muscle cells of aged organisms undergo apoptosis. Little is known about the effect of disuse atrophy on adult organisms during the transition from young to old. Therefore, we sought to investigate the morphological and molecular changes underlying disuse atrophy in adult mice. We found that muscle cells of adult mice exhibit both effects: smaller CSA and a loss of cells. We then investigated the Akt-mTOR-FoxO3 pathway, known to play a role in disuse atrophy and we hypothesis to see protection in older adult mice while using losartan. Next, due to the beneficial effects of angiotensin II type I receptor blocker (ARB) losartan on completely protecting sarcopenic muscle from disuse atrophy, we treated the young and adult mice. Losartan confers no protection against disuse atrophy in young mice and partial protection in adult mice. The data show the age-related changes in skeletal muscle during disuse atrophy and the impact of ARBs on combating it. Moreover, it highlights the importance of investigating the process of aging and not just the endpoint.
Funder Acknowledgement(s): I thank Tyesha Burks and Ruth Marx for help in the field and Division of Geriatric Medicine and Gerontology, Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine in Baltimore, Maryland for support and equipment. Funding was provided by Louis Stroke Alliances for Minority Participation (LSAMP) grant.
Funder Acknowledgement(s): Funding was provided by Louis Stroke Alliances for Minority Participation (LSAMP) grant.
Faculty Advisor: Tyesha N Burks, tburks@bowiestate.edu
Role: During my research process, I was able to complete in vivo testing and techniques, western blots and analyze histology on the microscope.