Submission Date

4-26-2021

Document Type

Paper- Restricted to Campus Access

Department

Biology

Adviser

April Carpenter

Committee Member

Beth Bailey

Committee Member

Jennifer King

Department Chair

Rebecca Lyczak

Project Description

Skeletal muscle injuries usually appear in the form of a strain or contusion as a result of exercise and lead to damaged contractile components. As a result of necrosis, these damaged components limit the total magnitude of force that a muscle can generate, decreasing the overall efficiency of the muscle. Muscular healing is promoted by an inflammatory response to the necrosis, increasing the blood vessel permeability and growth factors at the site of the injured tissue. The speed and degree of healing may vary due to external and biological factors and can be measured by the amount of force a muscle can generate. The purpose of this study was to compare contractile force generation and muscle fatigue 11 days post-injury in male and female Mus musculus. Barium chloride (BaCl2) was injected to mimic mechanical injury in the tibialis anterior (TA) and an ex vivo analysis of muscle contractile force was used. Our data suggests that maximum force generated, and fatigue appear to be viable parameters for assessing muscle recovery. In future studies this procedure can be used to compare mice at different timepoints post-injury and explore sex differences of external therapies that are regularly used to speed muscle regeneration.

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