08/02/2022
By Irma Silva

All are invited to attend the M.S. Thesis defense of Jordan Leedberg

Defense Date: Tuesday, Aug. 9, 2022
Time: 11 a.m. to 1 p.m.
Location: Via Zoom (Passcode: 918385)

Thesis Title: The role of dietary supplements in suppressing mechanical muscle damage and inflammation caused by innate immune cells

Committee: 

  • Advisor Peter Gaines, Department of Biological Sciences, University of Massachusetts Lowell
  • Michael Graves, Department of Biological Sciences, University of Massachusetts Lowell

Abstract:

Exercise-induced muscle damage (EIMD) is a form of damage caused by forceful eccentric (lengthening) contractions of the skeletal muscle beyond accustomed levels of exercise, which results in physical disruption of muscle fibers. This is most frequently observed in resistance training, marathon running, and other forms of high intensity exercise such as that experienced by men and women in the military. The initial damage to skeletal muscle fibers observed in EIMD is exacerbated by the pro-inflammatory response mediated by infiltrating immune cells, namely neutrophils and macrophages. Effective treatments for EIMD must therefore address both the primary damage to muscle fibers as well as the secondary damage caused by pro-inflammatory immune cells. 

In collaboration with the U.S. Army Natick Combat Capabilities Development Command (CCDC) Soldier Center and U.S. Army Research Institute of Environmental Medicine (USARIEM), the Gaines laboratory has performed studies to characterize interactions of muscle and immune cells in vitro using the Flexcell® FX-5000 system as a model of eccentric strain. This investigation aims to explore the role of multiple nutrients in an in vitro model of EIMD in attempt to identify dietary interventions that may alleviate primary and secondary muscle damage to promote military warfighter recovery from EIMD. Treatments will include an extract derived from Montmorency tart cherries (tart cherry extract, or TCE), antioxidative nutritional supplement Perceptiv®, and metabolites isolated from various strains of probiotics. Muscle fibers (C2C12-derived) and neutrophils (HL60-derived) will be analyzed as monocultures to fully characterize how these in vitro models respond to EIMD with nutrient interventions, and how human neutrophils respond to the same nutrients, which will provide important data to support future tests of muscle-immune cell interactions in response to nutrient interventions.