Application of novel minimally invasive stable isotope technologies to determine biomarkers od skeletal muscle health across the lifespan

"The purpose of the PhD studentship is to validate and apply minimally invasive approaches to quantify muscle mass and metabolism to support optimal growth, adult health and musculoskeletal maintenance into older age in animal models (herein, dogs and cats). One of the major obstacles to improving animal growth and wellbeing (for both agricultural reasons and for production of optimal foodstuffs for animal health) is the need to rely on poorly defined biomarkers for health status and the efficacy of interventions i.e. lifestyle, pharmaceuticals, nutrition. This is particularly important in the context of skeletal muscle, since this organ is critical for growth, adult health and for healthy ageing. We have recently pioneered novel minimally invasive (breath, urine and blood sampling) stable isotope technologies (D2O, H218O, D3 creatine, 13C leucine/phenylalanine, D3-3-methylhistidine) with which to quantify muscle protein synthesis/breakdown, energy expenditure and muscle mass, in addition to amino acid oxidation, simultaneously in humans. These stable isotopes are safe for use in animals, easily administered and we have the analytical capability to measure these tracers by mass spectrometry. Using this new link between the University of Nottingham (UoN) and MARS, we would apply these minimally invasive techniques in highly controlled animal intervention studies.
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