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

本项目研究妊娠和哺乳期骨骼肌及相关结缔组织的结构和功能。怀孕和哺乳是哺乳动物最昂贵的两种生理状态。因为个人不能无限期地增加能量利用来跟上这些新陈代谢的需求，所以其他过程必须变得更便宜。该研究项目验证了这样一种假设，即在怀孕和哺乳期，运动成本会降低，以抵消较高的能量成本。包括计算机建模在内的一整套实验技术将用于量化运动活动以及运动过程中肌肉和肌腱的形式和功能。这些信息将导致对运动过程中肌肉-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的更全面的了解，结果应该可以为女性在产前和产后阶段提供更好的量身定制的锻炼建议。该项目将为本科生和高中生创造10个带薪暑期研究实习机会，为本科生提供5年的带薪实验室技术员职位，以及在一个以本科为主的机构提供3个博士后导师培训机会。将开发和传播教学资源，以确定女性特有的解剖和生理学研究的新领域。该项目还将测试在入门课上教授女性特有的解剖学和生理学是否会增加STEM女学生的归属感，这可能会导致本科生教授这门学科的方式发生变化。该项目的主要目标是了解骨骼肌及其结缔组织在妊娠和哺乳期的形态和功能。假设怀孕和/或哺乳期间荷尔蒙对弹性组织的影响通过增加弹性势能的使用来改善运动能力。使用哺乳动物肌肉-肌腱生理学模型--大鼠--褐家鼠，首席研究员将带领一组本科生和博士后研究人员完成以下研究和教育目标：[1]利用高速摄像、植入肌电图仪、声学显微镜和间接量热法，量化怀孕和哺乳对步态力学、能量学和活体肌腱功能的影响。[2]在妊娠和哺乳期间，原位表征一个孤立的后肢肌肉-肌腱单位--外侧腓肠肌的形态和功能及其对跟腱的贡献。通过使用相同的受试者在活体内跟踪腿部肌腱的功能，当在麻醉动物中分离肌腱时，肌腱功能将直接与全身运动联系在一起。[3]开发教学资源，确定女性特有的解剖学和生理学研究的新领域，增强女性STEM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，并推动投资不足的研究领域对人类健康和福利产生潜在影响。这项研究将主要在本科机构进行，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智力优势和更广泛的影响审查标准进行评估，被认为值得支持。

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.