Critical to the evaluation of potential therapeutics (pharmacological, gene, or cell therapies) are sensitive and repeatable physiological assessments of muscle function applied to mouse models of dystrophy. Therefore, we are proposing to continue a research core that performs ex vivo, in situ, and whole animal assessments of muscle integrity and function. This core will not only support the needs of the projects within the center, but will also serve as a national resource for performing functional evaluation of potential therapies for the muscular dystrophies. The Physiological Assessment Core resources are housed in the laboratory space designated to Dr. Barton, the Core Director. Dr. Barton is a muscle physiologist with extensive experience evaluating muscle function in mice. This includes all instrumentation for muscle physiological measurements, specialized equipment for hindlimb suspension experiments, documented free wheel running, and treadmill running, as well as interim storage of samples in both ?80C and liquid nitrogen freezers. We propose to collaborate with neighboring colleagues to assess whole animal respiratory function, which will complement ex vivo assessment of the diaphragm. We believe that this Core has provided a previously unmet need in the past 10 years of its existence, and will continue to be a valuable resource that will enable the entire muscular dystrophy research community to utilize these assays to assess the potential benefits of a large number of approaches to the treatment of different forms of muscular dystrophy.

Agency
National Institute of Health (NIH)
Institute
National Institute of Arthritis and Musculoskeletal and Skin Diseases (NIAMS)
Type
Specialized Center--Cooperative Agreements (U54)
Project #
2U54AR052646-11
Application #
8975295
Study Section
Special Emphasis Panel (ZHD1-DSR-Y (50))
Project Start
Project End
Budget Start
2015-08-01
Budget End
2016-07-31
Support Year
11
Fiscal Year
2015
Total Cost
$187,500
Indirect Cost
$62,500
Name
University of Florida
Department
Type
DUNS #
969663814
City
Gainesville
State
FL
Country
United States
Zip Code
32611
Smith, Lucas R; Barton, Elisabeth R (2018) Regulation of fibrosis in muscular dystrophy. Matrix Biol 68-69:602-615
Hicks, Michael R; Hiserodt, Julia; Paras, Katrina et al. (2018) ERBB3 and NGFR mark a distinct skeletal muscle progenitor cell in human development and hPSCs. Nat Cell Biol 20:46-57
Barnard, Alison M; Willcocks, Rebecca J; Finanger, Erika L et al. (2018) Skeletal muscle magnetic resonance biomarkers correlate with function and sentinel events in Duchenne muscular dystrophy. PLoS One 13:e0194283
Fallon, Justin R; McNally, Elizabeth M (2018) Non-Glycanated Biglycan and LTBP4: Leveraging the extracellular matrix for Duchenne Muscular Dystrophy therapeutics. Matrix Biol 68-69:616-627
Batra, Abhinandan; Harrington, Ann; Lott, Donovan J et al. (2018) Two-Year Longitudinal Changes in Lower Limb Strength and Its Relation to Loss in Function in a Large Cohort of Patients With Duchenne Muscular Dystrophy. Am J Phys Med Rehabil 97:734-740
Daniel, Bence; Nagy, Gergely; Czimmerer, Zsolt et al. (2018) The Nuclear Receptor PPAR? Controls Progressive Macrophage Polarization as a Ligand-Insensitive Epigenomic Ratchet of Transcriptional Memory. Immunity 49:615-626.e6
Willcocks, Rebecca J; Triplett, William T; Lott, Donovan J et al. (2018) Leg muscle MRI in identical twin boys with duchenne muscular dystrophy. Muscle Nerve :
Aartsma-Rus, Annemieke; Ferlini, Alessandra; McNally, Elizabeth M et al. (2018) 226th ENMC International Workshop:: Towards validated and qualified biomarkers for therapy development for Duchenne muscular dystrophy 20-22 January 2017, Heemskerk, The Netherlands. Neuromuscul Disord 28:77-86
Barthélémy, Florian; Defour, Aurélia; Lévy, Nicolas et al. (2018) Muscle Cells Fix Breaches by Orchestrating a Membrane Repair Ballet. J Neuromuscul Dis 5:21-28
McNally, Elizabeth M; Wyatt, Eugene J (2017) Mutation-Based Therapy for Duchenne Muscular Dystrophy: Antisense Treatment Arrives in the Clinic. Circulation 136:979-981

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