Grant: Alliance Grants

The project proposes a novel multi-organ omics approach to comprehensively study the muscle-brain crosstalk in a healthy state when the communication between these two organs is stimulated by physical activity. The focus is on novel mechanisms that are beyond DNA sequence (genetics), namely epigenetic modifications. Challenging the muscle-brain crosstalk by increased inflammation due to a high fat/high carbohydrate diet further enables us to identify key players in maintaining homeostasis between the muscle and the brain. This is a new avenue as the research focus has been on a single organ and disease state up to now. We will identify proteins and pathways mediating the muscle-brain crosstalk in a healthy state unraveling a multi-organ regulation in the formation of new brain cells in adulthood (i.e., adult neurogenesis), and the impact of the environment (i.e., diet) on cell biology. As nearly all biological processes have an epigenetically regulated component, our findings will broadly impact numerous disciplines in natural sciences, including chemistry and biology. Understanding mechanisms governing adult neurogenesis and brain functions will lead to economic benefits via delivering knowledge essential to develop new tools, devices and engineered proteins. Findings will strengthen Canadian leadership in biological aspects of neurosciences, which constitutes a topic of global importance in the world facing economic and social burdens due to neurodegeneration in aging population.