The tuning mechanism of the molecular engines in muscle.

肌肉是为将能量转化为运动而设计的器官。这种高效的转变对所有生命都是必不可少的，发生在所有细胞中，在心脏和参与呼吸和运动的肌肉中最为明显。在分子水平上，能量转换包括肌肉蛋白肌动蛋白和肌球蛋白对ATP的分解。这种化学反应与肌球蛋白的运动有关。这一运动的性质，以及ATP分解和蛋白质运动之间的联系的细节是这个项目的研究主题。我们计划使用独特的技术，使我们能够测量化学变化(使用来自特殊探测器的荧光信号)、生理变化以及结构变化(使用X射线衍射)。这项研究的目的是详细了解ATP分解和运动之间的关系被改变的机制，这取决于对电机的需求。这种关系决定了分子引擎的效率。这种关系取决于肌肉的类型，可以通过训练、年龄或疾病来改变。我们计划利用我们的专业知识，研究当呼吸变得困难时，伴随着慢性阻塞性肺疾病的横隔肌纤维的变化，以期制定帮助患者的策略。

Muscles are organs designed for the transformation of energy into movement. This highly efficient transformation is essential for all life, occurs in all cells and is most obvious in the heart and in muscles involved in breathing and locomotion. At the molecular level, energy transformation consists of the breaking down of ATP by the muscle proteins actin and myosin. This chemical reaction is associated with a movement of myosin. The nature of this movement, and the details of the link between ATP break-down and movement of the protein is the subject of investigation in this project. We plan to use unique techniques which allow us to measure chemical changes (using fluorescent signals from specialised probes), physiological changes and also structural changes (using x-ray diffraction). The purpose of the study is to gain detailed understanding of the mechanism by which the relationship between ATP breakdown and movement is altered, depending on the demands made on the motor. This relationship determines the efficiency of the molecular engines. The relationship depends on the type of muscle and can be altered by training, age or disease. We plan to use our expertise to investigate changes in muscle fibres of the diaphragm that accompany chronic obstructive pulmonary disease when breathing becomes difficult with a view to developing strategies to help patients.