CAREER: Effects of pregnancy and lactation on muscle-tendon form and function in the rat, Rattus norvegicus

职业：妊娠和哺乳期对褐家鼠肌腱形态和功能的影响

• 批准号: 2239863
• 负责人: Nicole Danos
• 金额: $ 109.28万
• 依托单位: University of San Diego
• 依托单位国家: 美国
• 项目类别: Continuing Grant
• 财政年份: 2023
• 资助国家: 美国
• 起止时间: 2023-09-01 至 2028-08-31
• 项目状态: 未结题
• 来源: https://www.nsf.gov/awardsearch/showAward?AWD_ID=2239863&HistoricalAwards=false
• 关键词: CAREER; Effects; pregnancy; lactation; muscle

This project investigates the structure and function of skeletal muscle and associated connective tissues during pregnancy and lactation. Pregnancy and lactation are two of the most expensive physiological states in mammals. Because individuals cannot increase energy utilization indefinitely to keep up with these metabolic demands, other processes must become less costly. The research project tests the hypothesis that locomotor costs are reduced during pregnancy and lactation to offset the higher energetic costs. An integrated suite of experimental techniques, including computational modeling, will be used to quantify locomotor activity and form and function of muscles and tendons during movement. This information will lead to a more complete understanding of the metabolic costs of muscle-tendon interactions during locomotion and how they change during pregnancy and lactation, and the results should allow better tailored advice regarding exercise for women in the pre- and post-natal phases. The project will create 10 paid summer research internships for undergraduates and 10 for high school students, 5 years of a paid lab technician position for an undergraduate student, and three mentored postdoctoral training opportunities at a Primarily Undergraduate Institution. Teaching resources to identify new areas of female-specific anatomy and physiology research will be developed and disseminated. The project will also test whether teaching female-specific anatomy and physiology in introductory classes increases the sense of belonging for female students in STEM, which could lead to changes in how the subject is taught at the undergraduate level. The overarching aim of this project is to understand the form and function of skeletal muscle and its connective tissues during pregnancy and lactation. It is hypothesized that hormonal effects on elastic tissues during pregnancy and/or lactation improve locomotor performance by increasing the usage of elastic potential energy. Using a model of mammalian muscle-tendon physiology, the rat Rattus norvegicus, the Principal Investigator will lead a team of undergraduate and postdoctoral researchers to complete the following research and educational aims: [1] Quantify the effects of pregnancy and lactation on gait mechanics, energetics and in vivo muscle-tendon function, using high-speed videography, implanted electromyography, sonomicrometry, and indirect calorimetry. [2] Characterize in situ, during pregnancy and lactation, the form and function of an isolated hindlimb muscle-tendon unit, the lateral gastrocnemius and its contribution to the Achilles tendon. By using the same subjects to track the function of leg muscle-tendons in vivo and when the muscle-tendon is isolated in an anesthetized animal, muscle-tendon function will be directly linked to whole body movement. [3] Develop teaching resources to identify new areas of female-specific anatomy and physiology research and enhance female STEM students’ sense of belonging. The work will set the stage for a career-long research program that integrates laboratory work on a model organism with comparative field studies, and advances an under-invested field of research with potential impacts on human health and welfare. The research will be conducted at a Primarily Undergraduate Institution, integrating the project’s educational goals with the scientific work.This award reflects NSF's statutory mission and has been deemed worthy of support through evaluation using the Foundation's intellectual merit and broader impacts review criteria.

本研究旨在探讨妊娠期及哺乳期骨骼肌及相关结缔组织的结构与功能。妊娠和哺乳是哺乳动物最昂贵的两种生理状态。由于个人不能无限期地增加能量利用来满足这些代谢需求，因此其他过程的成本必须降低。该研究项目测试了这样一个假设，即在怀孕和哺乳期间，运动成本会降低，以抵消更高的能量成本。一套完整的实验技术，包括计算建模，将用于量化运动活动和肌肉和肌腱在运动过程中的形式和功能。这些信息将导致更全面地了解运动过程中肌肉-肌腱相互作用的代谢成本以及它们在怀孕和哺乳期间如何变化，并且结果应该允许更好地为产前和产后阶段的女性提供有关运动的建议。该项目将为本科生创造10个带薪夏季研究实习机会，为高中生创造10个带薪夏季研究实习机会，为本科生创造5年带薪实验室技术员职位，并在主要本科院校创造3个辅导博士后培训机会。将开发和传播教学资源，以确定女性特有的解剖学和生理学研究的新领域。该项目还将测试在入门课程中教授女性特定的解剖学和生理学是否会增加STEM女学生的归属感，这可能会导致本科阶段如何教授该学科的变化。该项目的总体目标是了解骨骼肌及其结缔组织在怀孕和哺乳期间的形式和功能。据推测，在怀孕和/或哺乳期间，激素对弹性组织的影响通过增加弹性势能的使用来改善运动性能。使用哺乳动物肌肉-肌腱生理学模型，大鼠褐家鼠，主要研究者将带领一个本科生和博士后研究人员团队完成以下研究和教育目标：[1]量化怀孕和哺乳对步态力学，能量学和体内肌肉-肌腱功能的影响，使用高速摄像，植入式肌电图，sonomicrometry和间接量热法。[2]在原位表征，在怀孕和哺乳期间，一个孤立的后肢肌肉肌腱单位，腓肠肌外侧及其对跟腱的贡献的形式和功能。通过使用相同的受试者在体内跟踪腿部肌肉-肌腱的功能，并且当肌肉-肌腱在麻醉动物中被分离时，肌肉-肌腱功能将直接与全身运动相关联。[3]开发教学资源，以确定女性特定解剖学和生理学研究的新领域，并增强STEM女学生的归属感。这项工作将为一个职业生涯的研究计划奠定基础，该计划将模式生物的实验室工作与比较实地研究相结合，并推进对人类健康和福利具有潜在影响的投资不足的研究领域。该研究将在一所私立本科院校进行，将项目的教育目标与科学工作相结合。该奖项反映了NSF的法定使命，并通过使用基金会的知识价值和更广泛的影响审查标准进行评估，被认为值得支持。