Introduction and Purpose
Physical activity (PA) is a vital behavior to maximize health. Less is understood regarding the impact of physical activity opportunities in key stages of skeletal muscle development, such as the time frame between weaning and sexual maturation. We propose that, in opposition to the negative effects of disuse, exposure to voluntary wheel running early in life will enhance growth rate, muscular function, and tissue composition.
Methods
We exposed postnatal male and female mice (3-4 weeks old) to 2 weeks (weeks 3 to 5) of voluntary wheel running (VWR) compared to control (CON) mice in a standard cage.
We then removed the wheels at week 5 to give one week of detraining (weeks 5 to 6).
Muscle weights were collected after completing PIA or 7D recovery.
Mice were euthanized by carbon dioxide inhalation followed by cervical dislocation.
Grip strength and body composition were assessed before (3 weeks) and after the 2 week period with or without access to VWR (5 weeks) and after the week of detraining (6 week).
Data are Mean ± SEM. Statistics were conducted with a 2-way ANOVA with either Sidak or Tukey Post Hoc tests as appropriate in GraphPad Prizm 9.3.1
Author(s): *Richards E., Katie; *Kachulkin A., Anthony; Binion A., Rachael; Smith D., Austin; Jevnikar E., Ben; Bagg, M. Alexandra; Schaab D., Ty; Reidy T., Paul
Mentor: Paul T. Reidy, Department of Kinesiology, Nutrition and Health
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