Bradley Olwin, PhD

Improving skeletal muscle stem cell health to rescue age-induced decline of skeletal muscle function

Skeletal muscle function and skeletal muscle mass inevitably decline with age eventually leading to loss of mobility and drastically reducing quality of life. Exercise, the only antidote that slows down muscle loss, improves overall metabolic health and improves cognition. The mechanisms causing loss of skeletal muscle during aging are poorly understood, and reversing muscle loss, or maintaining muscle function will contribute to improving our healthspan. Skeletal muscle is maintained by stem cells, but they lose their capacity to repair muscle as we age. When attempting to genetically boost muscle stem repair in aged mice by transiently enhancing stem cell FGF receptor signaling, Dr. Olwin's lab dramatically boosted muscle strength in aged mice, restoring near youthful strength. Dr. Olwin's goals are to better understand how this short-term treatment in only the stem cells affects the entire muscle, boosting muscle strength. The information we learn will hopefully lead to treatments for boosting muscle function during aging.