Grant: Master's Award: Canada Graduate Scholarships

The aging population undergoes a progressive loss of muscle mass, termed sarcopenia. As skeletal muscle comprises a large portion of the total human body mass, it is an essential contributor to overall physical health. The health of skeletal muscle is largely dependent on the maintenance of a healthy mitochondrial pool. The removal of dysfunctional mitochondrial happens via mitophagy and engulfed by lysosomes. It has been observed that mitochondrial content and function are reduced with age, and whether this is mediated by lysosomal dysfunction is unknown. Exercise has been shown to upregulate mitochondrial content and function. Sulforaphane has also been shown to induce lysosomal biogenesis. The objectives of this project are to 1) confirm the presence of dysfunctional lysosomes 2) evaluate the effect of chronic exercise training on lysosome content and function, and 3) investigate the possible synergy between exercise and sulforaphane supplementation. C57BL/6 mice will be subjected to voluntary wheel running and sulforaphane-induced chow. We hypothesize that age, training, and sulforaphane will increase lysosomal content, whilst training and sulforaphane will attenuate age-related changes. The significance of this work is that the results will establish the effects of age, training and sulforaphane on the regulation of lysosomal health, and have translational significance in revealing potential therapeutic value of these treatments for sarcopenia to improve overall quality of life with age.