Faculty Profiles

Current Research:

My research spans the organism, tissue, cellular and molecular levels and typically combines in vivo and in vitro approaches to investigate the impact of aging, exercise, disease, and changes in loading environment on structure-function relationships in skeletal muscle and tendon. A loss of muscle mass is frequently associated with disease, aging, and the removal of weight bearing such as occurs in the microgravity environment of space. In addition to the loss of mass, under many circumstances, unexplained muscle weakness remains when force is normalized by muscle cross-sectional area. The cellular and molecular mechanisms underlying muscle atrophy and weakness are studied in dystrophic mice, aging rodents and in rodent models of simulated microgravity. The mechanisms underlying differences in susceptibility to injury of muscles and tendons are also under active investigation.  Exercise-induced skeletal muscle injury is initiated by the mechanical disruption of the muscle fiber ultrastructure. The initial mechanical damage initiates a cascade of events including an inflammatory response and degeneration of the damaged fibers. Understanding the tissue, cellular, and molecular adaptations responsible for the protection from injury provided by exercise training, especially the role of inflammation in initiating protective adaptations, is of particular interest.

Representative Publications:
Pizza F.X., Koh T.J., McGregor S.J., and Brooks S.V.  "Muscle Inflammation Following Passive Stretches, Isometric Contractions, and Lengthening Contractions." J Appl Physiol, 92:1873-1878, 2002.

DelloRusso C., Scott J., Hartigan-O'Connor D., Salvatori G., Barjot C., Robinson A.S., Crawford R.C., Brooks S.V., and Chamberlain J.S. "Functional Correction of Adult mdx Mouse Muscle Using Gutted Adenoviral Vectors Expressing Full-Length Dystrophin." Proc Natl Acad Sci, 99:12979–12984, 2002.

Consolino C.M., Duclos F., Lee J., Williamson R., Campbell K.P., and Brooks S.V.  "Limb Muscles of Mice Deficient in A-Sarcoglycan Maintain Large Muscle Masses and Near Control Levels for Force Throughout the Life Span." Physiological Genomics, 22:244-256, 2005.

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