Grant: Research Tools and Instruments

Dual energy X-ray absorptiometry (DXA) is the gold-standard method for accurately quantifying whole-body composition, that is, the amount of muscle, bone, and fat. We are requesting a small animal DXA system, suitable for rodents, to allow us to accurately measure rodent body composition several times across their lifespan. Measuring the amount of muscle, bone, and fat in rodents will provide us with a physiological marker of metabolism while also giving us an excellent indication of muscle and bone quantity and quality. We are currently using mouse models where a gene or a number of genes are altered to understand how specific cellular activities can affect how a muscle functions. This system will further enable our research by providing us with the tool to explore how changes in muscle biology can influence rodent metabolism and body composition. It will also allow our team to explore how factors such as diet combined with physical activity alters body composition, potentially attenuating age-related losses in bone and muscle mass. Basic sciences, such as the work we plan on doing with this system, have a vital role in research. It provides the foundation of knowledge for the applied and more health-related science that follows. With this system, we will be able to use rodent models to gain a deeper understanding of the physiological mechanisms that alter muscle, bone, and fat mass across the lifespan. This information can be leveraged by future research aiming to optimize human body composition and thus has the potential to benefit many Canadians.