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Virginia Tech

Regulation of satellite cells by extrinsic factors during recovery from exercise in horses

Abstract

dc:description.abstract

The vast majority of horses engage in some form of exercise, whether it be for leisure or competition. Despite almost half of the approximately 7.2 million horses engaging in structured athletic work, very little is known about one of the most critical facets of recovery: satellite cells (SCs). Satellite cells lie adjacent to the myofiber of skeletal muscle, poised to enter the myogenic program and fuse to the nearby muscle after a damaging event. Hepatocyte growth factor (HGF) and insulin-like growth factor-1 (IGF-1) transcript abundance increased after an exhaustive bout of endurance exercise in concert with myogenic regulator factors and preceding increased SC abundance in a previous study. This suggests that SCs may participate in repair of exercise-induced muscle damage. To assess the role of HGF in this process, equine SCs (eqSCs) were isolated from the gluteus medius of mature thoroughbred geldings for activation, proliferation and differentiation assays. Activation was not accelerated by 1, 5, 10, or 25 ng/mL HGF. Instead, 25 ng/mL HGF increased the proliferation rate of eqSC via protein kinase C δ and decreased differentiation. The influence of dietary L-citrulline, an amino acid that has the potential to influence SC activity and nutrient availability by its metabolism to L-arginine, was assessed during recovery from exercise in unfit adult horses. To model submaximal exercise, horses were exercised for 1 h at an average heart rate of 116 bpm, suggested to be typical of a heavy exercise session by the National Research Council. L-citrulline decreased myogenin mRNA abundance compared to controls while exercise increased peroxisome proliferator-activated receptor gamma coactivator 1- α (PGC1α) mRNA abundance, a master regulator of energy metabolism, at 1 d post-exercise. Although SCs were not activated in response to a single bout of submaximal exercise, metabolic regulators increased in the early period of recovery. Through these studies eqSC dynamics during exercise are better defined.

Degree

thesis:*
Name thesis:degree_name
Doctor of Philosophy
Level thesis:degree_level
doctoral
Discipline thesis:degree_discipline
Animal and Poultry Sciences
Department dc:contributor.department
Animal and Poultry Sciences
Grantor dc:publisher
Virginia Tech
Year dc:date.issued
2019

Author and committee

dc:creator, dc:contributor.*
Author dc:creator
  • Brandt, Amanda Maverick
Chair dc:contributor.committeechair
  • Johnson, Sally E.
Committee members dc:contributor.committeemember
  • Rhoads, Robert P.
  • Frisard, Madlyn I.
  • El-Kadi, Samer Wassim

Subjects

dc:subject × 3

Rights

dc:rights
Statement dc:rights
  • In Copyright

Identifiers

dc:identifier.*
Dc Identifier Other
vt_gsexam:19403
OAI identifier oai:identifier
oai:vtechworks.lib.vt.edu:10919/89089

Chain of custody

source
Harvested from
Virginia Tech
Base URL
vtechworks.lib.vt.edu/oai/request
Last updated
2026-07-22
Source record
OAI-PMH GetRecord
citation

Brandt, Amanda Maverick. Regulation of satellite cells by extrinsic factors during recovery from exercise in horses. doctoral thesis, Virginia Tech, 2019. http://hdl.handle.net/10919/89089