Metabolic cages and in vitro muscle test system

在认识影响代谢功能的因素方面取得了重要进展。然而，关于控制食物摄入和身体活动以及细胞营养摄取/利用、身体成分和能量消耗的行为调节机制的关键问题仍然存在。啮齿类动物（大鼠和小鼠）模型最适合评估这些重要功能。因此，代谢笼和体外肌肉测试系统等动物设施仪器已被开发出来，以快速可靠地测量特定处理或饮食对食物/水摄入、体内能量消耗以及体外肌肉生理/功能的影响。但是，UQAM的动物设施没有这些仪器，必须购买。它们将主要被我的学生和工作人员日常使用，以执行我最近向NSERC、CIHR和FRQS提出的研究计划中描述的实验程序。此外，仪器的可用性将使我的一些同事、教职员工和来自蒙特利尔地区其他部门或其他大学的研究人员能够为他们自己的研究获得补充数据。这些仪器将被放置在UQAM皮埃尔-丹塞罗校区的动物设施中。该中心主任、医学博士玛农·圣日尔曼（Manon St-Germain）最近同意分配空间和预算，在动物设施的当地安装这些仪器。重要的是，我自己在使用这种代谢笼方面的专业知识和我的合作者A.S. Comtois在体外肌肉测试方面的广泛技能保证了所要求的仪器将迅速发挥作用，并提供给学员、HQP和其他用户。这些仪器的可用性将使我们能够从体外和动物模型中收集最有价值的数据，这些数据将用于破译能量平衡和肌肉功能调节的高度复杂机制。

Important advances have been made in the recognition of factors influencing metabolic functions. However, key questions remain regarding the mechanisms underlying the regulation of behaviors that govern food intake and physical activity as well as cellular nutrient uptake/utilization, body composition and energy expenditure. Rodent (rats and mice) models are most appropriate to evaluate such vital functions. Accordingly, animal facility instruments such as metabolic cages and in vitro muscle test systems have been developed to measure rapidly and reliably the effects of specific treatments or diets on food/water intake, energy expenditure in vivo, as well as muscle physiology/functionality in vitro. However, those instruments are not available at UQAM's animal facilities and must be acquired. They will be primarily used on a routine basis by my students and staff to perform experimental procedures described in research programs that I recently proposed to NSERC, CIHR and FRQS. Also, the instruments availability will enable some of my colleagues, faculty members and investigators from other departments or other universities in the Montreal area to acquire complementary data for their own studies. The instruments will be located in UQAM's animal facilities at the Pierre-Dansereau campus. Its director, Dr. Manon St-Germain, DVM, has recently agreed to allocate space and a budget for the installation of the instruments in the locals of the animal facility. Importantly, my own expertise with the use of such metabolic cages and my collaborator A.S. Comtois' extensive skill in in vitro muscle testing warrant that the requested instruments will be promptly functioning and made available to trainees, HQP and other users. The availability of such instruments will enable us to collect most valuable data from in vitro and animal models that will be used to decipher the highly complex mechanisms underlying the regulation of energy balance and muscle functions.