Brett Noble and Dr. Allen Parcell, Department of Exercise Sciences
Research in the field of exercise science, as in any scientific field, is changing and developing as knowledge of each intricate part of the human organism grows. Unfortunately such understanding can only be developed through tedious, ongoing research in labs. Comparative to other scientific fields, the study of exercise physiology, particularly that of the structural proteins in skeletal muscle, is relatively new. There is still much to be learned and studied. The data which we gathered contributed to the ever growing body of information that helps us better understand how skeletal muscle functions.
As I stated in my ORCA proposal recent studies found that the cytoskeletal protein, desmin, is associated with muscle force generating capacity and muscle growth (1,2). The study in which I participated was designed to evaluate the impact of running exercise intensity on desmin content, as well as two other cytoskeletal proteins, vinculin and alpha-actinin. We used gastrocnemius muscle tissue samples of rats which had been part of a previous study. These rats had been separated into three groups: one control group, one that was trained at a high intensity, and the last which was trained at a low intensity. We then were able to use electrophoresis and immunoblotting to determine the concentrations of each of these three proteins in the muscle samples. This allowed us to observe any variance in protein concentration.
Drawing on what was learned in prior studies we were expecting to see a significant increase in desmin from the control group to the trained groups. Although the desmin protein concentration seemed to decrease in the high intensity group and appeared to increase in the low intensity group, none of the changes in any of the protein concentrations that we observed were significant.
I was able to attend the ACSM (American College of Sports Medicine) conference that took place at Seattle, Washington in May of 2009 where a poster of our findings was presented by Dr. Parcell. By attending this conference, I was able to observe firsthand how the efforts of thousands of researchers contributes to an expansive, yet still growing field of knowledge. I saw how the implications of one scientist’s research could impact the entire field and how each individual study made small contributions to that whole.
My experience in the lab also taught me a lot about scientific research. We ran into some delays due to both mistakes and necessary tweaks we had to make in the protocol for the study. It took time to figure out precisely how to perform the processes required to obtain accurate, consistent results. I learned that research generally is not a quick, easy process, but one that requires hours of tinkering and adjusting as well as scientific intuition to resolve unforeseen problems.
As study of exercise continues we will gain a better understanding of how it affects different muscle fiber types. This will allow trained professionals to better prescribe appropriate exercise training to reach desired muscular outcomes. This knowledge may also help shed more light on ways to prevent, or decrease severity of diseases that impact muscle function such as muscular dystrophies. Therefore the purpose of such studies as this is to improve the quality of life of both the general population and those with muscular disabilities.
References
- Woolstenhulme MT, Jutte LS, Durmmond MJ, and Parcell AC. Desmin increases with high-intensity concentric contractions in humans. Muscle Nerve 31: 20-24, 2005.
- Woolstenhulme MT, Conlee RK, Durmmond MJ, Stites AW, and Parcell AC. Temporal response of desmin and dystrophin proteins to progressive resistance exercise in human skeletal muscle. J Appl Physiol 100: 1876 1882, 2006.