The Effects of Diet and Ultra Violet B Exposure on Vitamin D Levels and Muscle Performance In Mice (Mus musculus)

Vitamin D is a steroid that promotes healthy bone structure and muscle function. It is obtained from the diet and synthesized in the skin during UV-B exposure from sunlight. In muscle, it influences calcium transport and promotes growth, with varied responses depending on muscle type. I hypothesized...

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Bibliographic Details
Main Author: Tsao, Natalie
Other Authors: Syme, Douglas A., Barclay, Robert M. R., Burton, Jodie M.
Format: Master Thesis
Language:English
Published: Science 2019
Subjects:
Mice
Vitamin D
Muscle Performance
Fast-twitch Muscles
Slow-twitch Muscles
Ultraviolet B
Education > Health
Animal Pathology
Food Science and Technology
Animal Physiology
Physiology
Veterinary Science
Zoology
Arctic
Online Access:http://hdl.handle.net/1880/111017
https://doi.org/10.11575/PRISM/37082
Description
Summary:Vitamin D is a steroid that promotes healthy bone structure and muscle function. It is obtained from the diet and synthesized in the skin during UV-B exposure from sunlight. In muscle, it influences calcium transport and promotes growth, with varied responses depending on muscle type. I hypothesized that reduced vitamin D in the diet and removal of UVB light, as occurs during hibernation or the Polar winter, will impact circulating levels of vitamin D to the extent that muscle contractile performance is altered. I also hypothesize that fast-twitch muscles will show greater responses of muscle contractile capabilities to treatments compared to slow-twitch muscles. Mice were used as a model, and fed diets with normal or low vitamin D, and exposed to normal or no UV-B doses for 3 months. Neither fast nor slow muscle types showed significant differences between treatment groups in force, power, force-velocity measures, or rates of fatigue. Serum vitamin D levels, measured at the midpoint and endpoint of the treatment, varied substantially among individuals, but not, on average, among treatment groups, indicating mechanisms of compensatory homeostasis in the face of reduced vitamin D supply. These results suggest that intermittent interruptions in dietary vitamin D or light exposure in mammals, such as those that hibernate or live above the Arctic Circle, do not impair muscle contractile function.

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