Aaron Gleisner Biology/Biomed
Amanda Smolinsky Associate Professor of Biology
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Abstract
According to Wolff’s Law, bone structure will adapt in response to stressors, like forces during exercise created by the muscles. To examine this relationship between muscles and bone structure, muscle forces can be altered with exercise and genetics. Conveniently, research has been done on mice that were bred in four lineages to maximize running distance. Studies have shown that one of these lineages, called “Mini muscle” (MM) mice, has adapted with a single recessive mutation, resulting in a 50% reduction in hindlimb musculature. Therefore, to examine the interaction between muscles and bone structure through genetics, we have examined generation 83 of the MM mice. First, two groups of MM were created: mice that were either allowed or denied access to running wheels for three weeks. Then, micro-CT scans of the mouse third metatarsal (MT3) were formatted with 3D Slicer software. Lastly, cross sectional properties of the MT3, such as diameter, area, and proxies for bending strength, were measured using the BoneJ plugin for ImageJ software. Minor morphological changes were observed that were expected with Wolff’s law given the relatively small size of the MT3 bone. These findings further our understanding of the relationship between muscle and bone structure. Future directions include measuring bone density and comparing the MM mice with wildtype mice MT3 morphology.
