Development of bioimaging technique for temperature measurement in skeletal muscle myofibers

2021 Fiscal Year Final Research Report

• Project/Area Number: 19K22800
• Research Category: Grant-in-Aid for Challenging Research (Exploratory)
• Allocation Type: Multi-year Fund
• Review Section: Medium-sized Section 59:Sports sciences, physical education, health sciences, and related fields
• Research Institution: The University of Electro-Communications
• Principal Investigator: Kano Yutaka 電気通信大学, 大学院情報理工学研究科, 教授 (90293133)
• Project Period (FY): 2019-06-28 – 2022-03-31
• Keywords: 骨格筋 / 筋細胞 / 細胞内温度 / カルシウムイオン / 筋収縮

Outline of Final Research Achievements

Real-time analysis of intracellular temperature distribution leads to the elucidation of various cellular functions. This study was conducted to establish a technique to image temperature distribution in the in vivo environment without removing skeletal muscle from live animals. In the experiment, temperature-sensitive fluorescent probes were loaded into rat muscle cells. A model was constructed to observe the contraction-relaxation cycle by direct calcium ion injection into the cells, and temperature changes were observed in real time. This experimental model revealed that the sarcoplasmic reticulum, a cell organelle that regulates calcium ion in the cytoplasm, plays an important role in the muscle temperature changes during the contraction-relaxation cycle.

Free Research Field

運動生理学

Academic Significance and Societal Importance of the Research Achievements

筋細胞内の温度分布がin vivo環境下において画像化できる技術の確立は，わずかな温度変動でも影響される筋代謝，DNAやタンパク質構造の変化との関係性を追求できるモデルを提唱する．そのため，本研究による in vivo温度イメージングモデルの確立は，生理学分野の基礎研究や理学療法への応用などの点で，学術的，臨床的にも利用価値の高いことが予想される．