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      • HARVEST
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      The effect of glutamine on rat skeletal muscle composition following acute spinal cord injury

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      J_GoldingMSc.pdf (7.296Mb)
      Date
      2005-04-29
      Author
      Golding, Jamie Danielle
      Type
      Thesis
      Degree Level
      Masters
      Metadata
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      Abstract
      Primary spinal cord injury (SCI) results from direct mechanical damage to the spinal cord. The resulting pathochemical and pathophysiological events, including oxidative stress and inflammation, lead to secondary injury. The ability to decrease secondary injury may lead to improved recovery. Increasing glutathione production after SCI leads to decreased secondary injury. Glutamine is an important precursor to glutathione following trauma. Skeletal muscle phenotype is strongly influenced by neuromuscular activity. SCI causes myosin heavy chain (MyHC) profiles to shift towards faster isoforms in slow muscles and slower isoforms in fast muscles. The hypothesis was that glutamine, as a precursor of glutathione, administration to SCI rats would lead to better functional recovery and a more preserved MyHC phenotype in locomotory muscles. Rats were assigned to one of four groups; healthy, laminectomy only, untreated SCI, and SCI treated with an intraperitoneal injection of 1mmol/kg glutamine every 12 hours for one week after injury. SCIs were performed at T6 with a modified aneurism clip. Functional recovery was measured weekly using the Basso-Beattie-Bresnahan scale and the angle board method. Six weeks later, all rats were killed, and their extensor digitorum longus and soleus muscles excised and weighed. MyHC composition of the muscles was determined using SDS-PAGE.The hypothesis that glutamine treatment following SCI would lead to better functional recovery and a more preserved MyHC profile was validated. Glutamine treated rats received significantly higher BBB scores (p
      Degree
      Master of Science (M.Sc.)
      Department
      Anatomy and Cell Biology
      Program
      Anatomy and Cell Biology
      Supervisor
      Rosser, Benjamin W. C.
      Committee
      Krone, Patrick H.; Doucette, J. Ronald; West, Nigel
      Copyright Date
      April 2005
      URI
      http://hdl.handle.net/10388/etd-04192005-153007
      Subject
      myosin
      muscle
      locomotion
      glutamine
      spinal cord
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