Skeletal muscle atrophy is an important pathological process in the sarcopenia of advancing age, spinal cord injury, and models of enervation and muscle disuse. The purpose of this Proteomics and Genomics Core Facility (PGCF) is to provide state-of-the art experimental resources and the development of new procedures that facilitate understanding the molecular genetic and biochemical mechanisms of sarcopenia development and the biological interactions of recovery. These approaches provide basic information on understanding the molecular and genetic mechanisms of development and recovery of skeletal muscle atrophies that include age-associated sarcopenia (UTMB) and muscle frailty (JHU), spinal cord injury and hemiparetic stroke (UM), and cardiovascular disease (WF), and the complex molecular biological processes leading to rehabilitation and recovery. All of these areas of research are of major interest of many of the Pepper OAICs and serve to unify the investigations at these centers. There are three Specific Aims of the PGCF:
Aim, 1 focuses upon the development and improvement of proteomics and genomics high throughput technologies for use by Pepper OAIC investigators;
Aim 2, focuses upon the continuation and extension of the on-going collaborations with Pepper OAIC investigators;
Aim 3, focuses upon the training of young investigators in areas of molecular genomics and proteomics. An important function of the PGCF is to provide rapid, efficient and state-of-the art investigation and identification of the biological processes affected by the muscle atrophies and those essential to recovery. Such processes as global gene expression, organellar (mitochondrial) gene expression and biogenesis, changes in protein pool levels, and protein modifications associated with skeletal muscle pathology can be identified and thereby provide the basic information needed to understand the molecular mechanisms of muscle atrophy and recovery. These studies ultimately provide information for the design of pharmaceutical interventions.
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