Skeletal Muscle and Exercise Physiology Study Section – SMEP

Topics

• Biochemical and molecular biological research on skeletal muscle-specific proteins.
• Skeletal muscle cells in normal and altered states: excitation-contraction coupling, and calcium regulation; muscle biomechanics; cell-cell/cell-matrix interactions including pathways of signal transduction; physiological evaluation of skeletal muscle gene function; stem and satellite cell biology; oxidative stress; mitochondrial dysfunction; autophagy; proteosomal degradation; regulation of skeletal muscle energy and substrate metabolism including mitochondrial function.
• Skeletal muscle as a tissue: molecular and cellular mechanisms of skeletal muscle adaptation, growth, injury, repair, degeneration, and regeneration; effects of exercise and inactivity, maturation, nutrition, and the aging process on skeletal muscle function, protein turnover, and metabolism; normal and abnormal neural control of muscle fiber type and molecular phenotype; non-invasive imaging of skeletal muscle properties, metabolism, and mechanical dynamics; skeletal muscle biology of sarcopenia and cachexia.
• Integrative functions: effects of exercise on maintenance of functional capacity of muscle and on pathology due to inherited disease, aging, and inactivity; physiologic interactions between skeletal muscle and other organ systems in normal and disease states when skeletal muscle function is the primary focus.
• Skeletal muscle diseases: evaluation of genetics and epigenetics, gene function, and development of vertebrate and invertebrate genetic models; pathophysiology of skeletal muscle disorders and diseases, including the muscular dystrophies, atrophy, myotonia, periodic paralysis, malignant hyperthermia, and inflammatory myopathies; pharmacological interventions and pre-clinical approaches; cell and gene therapies for skeletal muscle diseases.

Shared Interests and Overlaps

There are shared interests with Musculoskeletal Rehabilitation Sciences (MRS) in the investigation of muscle function and exercise. Grant applications that focus on rehabilitation interventions to improve muscle function, increase muscle mass, or identify muscles responsible to functional decline may be assigned to MRS. Applications that focus on molecular and cellular mechanisms of muscle function and related animal models may be assigned to SMEP.

There are shared interests with Musculoskeletal Tissue Engineering (MTE) in the investigation of skeletal muscle regeneration. Grant applications that focus on the use of scaffolds and muscle stem cells for skeletal muscle regeneration may be assigned to MTE. Applications that focus on in situ repair and regeneration of diseased skeletal muscle using skeletal muscle satellite or stem cells may be assigned to SMEP.

There are shared interests in sarcopenia and skeletal muscle function with Aging Systems and Geriatrics (ASG). Applications that focus on skeletal muscle biology or function in response to sarcopenia, including exercise interventions that focus on muscle are reviewed in SMEP. Applications that emphasize the clinical aspects of sarcopenia, or on skeletal muscle endpoints as consequences of aging syndromes such as multi-morbidity and polypharmacy are reviewed in ASG. Applications that emphasize skeletal muscle endpoints as outcomes in older adults (exercise studies) are also reviewed in ASG. 

There are shared interests with Pathophysiology of Obesity and Metabolic Disease (POMD) in the investigation of metabolic pathways and mitochondrial function in skeletal muscle. Grant applications that focus on insulin action, cytokines, adipokines and inflammatory regulation of metabolic and energy control of skeletal muscle related to obesity and diabetes may be assigned to POMD. Applications that focus on oxidative stress, mitochondrial dysfunction, energy and substrate metabolism in normal and disease states when skeletal muscle function is the primary focus, may be assigned to SMEP.

There are shared interests with Nutrition and Metabolism in Health and Disease (NMHD) in the investigation of nutrients effects on muscle function. Grant applications that focus on signaling pathways that modulate nutrients effects on muscle physiology may be assigned to NMHD. Applications focused on effects of vitamins and nutrients on skeletal muscle diseases may be reviewed by SMEP.

There are shared interested with Cellular Mechanisms in Aging and Development (CMAD) in the investigation of metabolic and physiologic regulation of aging muscle. Grant applications that focus on nutrient sensing or signaling, mammalian target of rapamycin (mTOR), sirtuins, insulin/IGF/GH pathways and mitochondria function with specific focus to study metabolic and physiologic mechanisms that regulate aging may be assigned to CMAD. Applications on sarcopenia as well as aging of skeletal muscle stem cells and their niche may also be assigned to CMAD. Applications with primary focus on skeletal muscle biology and function in response to sarcopenia, aging and inactivity may be assigned to SMEP.

There are shared interests with Integrative Myocardial Physiology/Pathophysiology A (MPPA) in the investigation related to muscle contractility. Grant applications that focus on contractile proteins and contractile systems in the context of cardiac contractile function, hypertrophy and heart failure may be assigned to MPPA. Applications that focus on contractile function within the context of skeletal muscle and muscular dystrophy may be assigned to SMEP.