Investigation of a crosstalk pathway between skeletal muscle and sensory neurons: effects of physical exercise-induced PGC-1a1 in skeletal muscle on dorsal roots ganglion activation and metabolism

Abstract

Skeletal muscle has been presented as a highly plastic tissue in response to physical exercise metabolic demands and these effects are relevant for the prevention of several diseases. Little is known about how much physical exercise metabolic adaptations in the skeletal muscle tissue may be related to the resolution of inflammatory pain in the nociceptive primary neurons and prevention of chronic muscle pain. Also, it is not known whether exercise-induced PGC-1± in skeletal muscle is related with this process. There is a crosstalk process where skeletal muscle modifications may modulate other tissues and organs, and PGC-1± is a key factor in many of these pathways. With this, we hypothesize that physical exercise-induced PGC-1± in skeletal muscle will induce modification on DRG neurons in inflammatory pain and that these may be related with an aerobic metabolism in the DRG neurons and skeletal muscle. In order to investigate this, in vivo and in vitro experiments focusing on the tissues' crosstalk will be conducted in this project.