The Systemic Effects of Exercise in Pre-Pubertal Girls and Women on Muscle and Bone Growth in Vitro: Translating Pediatric Exercise Science with Animation
Theses
Overview
Overview
abstract
The systemic environment in children is characterized by factors that facilitate muscle and bone development. These systemic factors may help to regulate the growth of these tissues particularly when mechanical loading is minimal, as observed with low-impact exercise. Low-impact exercise induces an alteration in the systemic environment in children and adults, however the direct implications of these changes on muscle and bone development are unclear. The focus of this thesis was to examine the effects of exercise on systemic regulators of muscle and bone growth in prepubertal girls and women, and to determine whether changes in these systemic regulators can influence osteoblast and myoblast proliferation and differentiation. In addition, this thesis will also highlight the importance of translating knowledge in the form of an animation video about the effects of exercise on bone health.
Our first study demonstrated that an acute bout of moderate intensity exercise elicits similar responses in systemic regulators (CX3CL1, FGF-2, and IGF-1) of muscle and bone growth in prepubertal girls and women, with exception of a higher inflammatory response (IL-6) in women.
In our second study, we show that exercise does not elicit a proliferative response myoblasts and osteoblasts in vitro after treatment with serum collected from prepubertal girls and women. However, proliferation of osteoblasts and myoblasts was higher in women post- exercise relative to prepubertal girls. Moreover, there was no exercise effect on myotube formation in prepubertal girls and women, however mineralization decreased post-exercise in both groups.
In our final study, we developed an animation video that summarizes the findings of this thesis to school-age children and explored the educational utility of this knowledge translation tool. Four salient viewpoints were identified in our cohort of children, each with varying degrees of engagement and attitudes towards the video. All participants expressed an improved understanding how exercise influences bone as evidenced by their consensus statement.
Altogether, our data suggests that inflammatory responses induced by exercise are attenuated in children relative to adults, which can have an effect on myoblast and osteoblast proliferation. The decrease in mineralization observed after exercise may be indicative of increased bone remodeling followed by an anabolic bone response. Finally, the development of a knowledge translation tool proved to be feasible and beneficial in promoting awareness about the benefits of exercise on bone health.
