Investigation of a crosstalk pathway between skeletal muscle and sensory neurons: effects of physical exercise-induced PGC-1a1 in skeletal muscle on dorsal roots ganglion activation and metabolism

• Grant number: 20/10585-0
• Support Opportunities: Scholarships abroad - Research Internship - Doctorate
• Start date: February 01, 2021
• End date: January 31, 2022
• Field of knowledge: Health Sciences - Physical Education
• Principal Investigator: Maria Cláudia Gonçalves de Oliveira
• Grantee: Graciana de Azambuja
• Supervisor: Jorge Manuel Lira Gonçalves Ruas
• Host Institution: Faculdade de Ciências Aplicadas (FCA). Universidade Estadual de Campinas (UNICAMP). Limeira , SP, Brazil
• Institution abroad: Karolinska Institutet, Sweden
• Associated to the scholarship: 18/13599-1 - Inflammatory mechanisms underlying muscle pain chronification and its prevention by physical exercise: study of macrophages, PPAR gamma and P2X4 receptors involvment, BP.DR

Abstract

Skeletal muscle has been presented as a highly plastic tissue in response to physical exercise metabolic demands and these effects are relevant for the prevention of several diseases. Little is known about how much physical exercise metabolic adaptations in the skeletal muscle tissue may be related to the resolution of inflammatory pain in the nociceptive primary neurons and prevention of chronic muscle pain. Also, it is not known whether exercise-induced PGC-1± in skeletal muscle is related with this process. There is a crosstalk process where skeletal muscle modifications may modulate other tissues and organs, and PGC-1± is a key factor in many of these pathways. With this, we hypothesize that physical exercise-induced PGC-1± in skeletal muscle will induce modification on DRG neurons in inflammatory pain and that these may be related with an aerobic metabolism in the DRG neurons and skeletal muscle. In order to investigate this, in vivo and in vitro experiments focusing on the tissues' crosstalk will be conducted in this project. (AU)