We want to know why physical activity is beneficial....don't you?
Researcher : Dr. Espen Spangenburg
Laboratory : Molecular Systems Laboratory
Future Goals : To delineate the molecular mechanisms that chronic physical activity activates to improve our overall health and reduce our mortality.
How do your physical activity levels alter the function of the organs in your body?
The majority of our society realizes that being physical active improves our health and reduces the risk for disease. Most of us know that physical activity can prevent obesity, but we are just beginning to realize that the beneficial effects of exercise extend much further than weight management. For example, did you know that by being physically active you can reduce your risk for colon cancer, breast cancer and Alzheimer's disease by up to 50%? Clearly, your colon and brain would not first come to mind when thinking about the beneficial effects of exercise. Unfortunately, today, we have little to no mechanistic data to explain how physical activity is affecting these organs.
To truly understand the benefits of chronic exercise, we are working towards defining various molecular mechanisms that are activated by physical activity in a variety of organ tissues. Dr. Spangenburg's lab focuses on the interaction between physical activity, inflammation, and circulating hormones. In particular, Dr. Spangenburg has found that physical activity can induce pro-inflammatory gene expression in skeletal muscle to combat various chronic diseases. Dr. Spangenburg has recently published some of the first evidence documenting the importance of the suppressor of cytokine signaling gene family in skeletal muscle function during physical activity. This gene family appears to increase IL-6 expression during exercise, which contributes to the ability of exercise to prevent type 2 diabetes.
Dr. Spangenburg's lab has identified the importance of ovarian hormones in maintenance of normal skeletal muscle function. Skeletal muscle is not thought to be a tissue that is greatly affected by changes in ovarian hormone status, however our data would suggest otherwise. These findings suggest the possibility that women who are exposed to low levels of endogenous ovarian hormones do not have the ability to recover atrophied muscle mass. This failure occurs due, in part, to an inability to activate signaling mechanisms necessary for initiation of protein translation. These data are critically important in defining what happens to women as they enter menopause and may influence their decision about future treatments particularly if they have suffered an injury or illness that may require lengthy stays in bed.
Dr. Spangenburg's lab currently is collaborating with various groups at the University of Maryland (including Dr(s) Roth, Hagberg, and Ward), Penn State University (Dr. Donna Korzick), University of Missouri (Dr. Marybeth Brown), and Vanderbilt (Dr. David Wasserman). These collaborations enhance the integrative and cross-cutting nature of Dr. Spangenburg's research. The lab employs numerous cutting edge molecular techniques including cDNA manipulation, transgenic mice, cell culture models, RT-PCR, and western blotting.
Figure 1. This picture is an example of a gene overexpression system utilized in Dr. Spangenburg's Lab. The picture shows cultured muscle cells (i.e. the green ones) that are overexpressing a particular gene of interest. We can apply almost any gene to this system.
Dr. Spangenburg's has had recent publications in such journals as the Journal of Biological Chemistry, Journal of Physiology, Journal of Applied Physiology, and the American Journal of Physiology. Dr. Spangenburg's research is currently supported by NIH. Dr. Spangenburg was recently awarded the 2007 New Investigator Award from the American Physiological Society (Environmental and Exercise Physiology Section).
