Mechanism of Gene Regulation in Skeletal Muscle Function

Summary : Skeletal muscle is the largest organ in the human body, playing important roles in exercise, energy expenditure and glucose/amino acid metabolism. Appropriate exercise coupled with sufficient nutrition increases muscle mass. In contrast, bedrest, aging, cancer, and other diseases lead to muscle atrophy, thus de-creasing energy expenditure （ leading to obesity ） and glucose uptake, increasing the blood glucose level （ re-sulting in diabetes ） and reducing the quality of life. We have been investigating the role of a transcription factor, FOXO 1