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In JoVE (1)
Other Publications (3)
Articles by George Carvell in JoVE
JoVE Clinical and Translational Medicine
A Murine Model of Muscle Training by Neuromuscular Electrical Stimulation
1Department of Physical Medicine and Rehabilitation, University of Pittsburgh, 2Department of Physical Therapy, University of Pittsburgh, 3McGowan Institute for Regenerative Medicine, University of Pittsburgh
A murine model of neuromuscular electrical stimulation (NMES), a safe and inexpensive clinical modality, to the anterior compartment muscles is described. This model has the advantage of modifying a readily available clinical device for the purpose of eliciting targeted and specific muscle contractions in mice.
Other articles by George Carvell on PubMed
Texture Discrimination and Unit Recordings in the Rat Whisker/barrel System
We have developed a semi-automated technique for acquiring neurophysiological data during whisker-based tactile discriminative behavior. Water-deprived, blindfolded rats are tethered by means of a harness vest that permits them to contact a rough (250 micrometer grooves) or smooth discriminandum with only their vibrissae. Discriminanda are mounted on a motor-driven carousel, and the rat indicates its choice (rough, smooth) by licking either a right or left water port located near the carousel. A narrow light beam detects general proximity of the animal's nose to the discriminandum, although actual whisker contact is monitored by a SuperVHS camera and measured offline using field-by-field videographic analysis. Rats can be trained within 3-6 weeks at which time they perform 100-150 trials/day at a level of 80% correct. Unit recording from the somatosensory cortex reveals that neurons increase their firing upon whisker contact of a discriminandum and that firing remains elevated during several hundred milliseconds of ongoing contact, even with the smooth surface. Nevertheless, despite the animal's ability to distinguish the rough and smooth surfaces, overall neuronal firing rates were indistinguishable for the two surfaces. In some cases, temporal firing patterns differed, although not in a consistent way across recording sites.
Functional Overloading of Dystrophic Mice Enhances Muscle-derived Stem Cell Contribution to Muscle Contractile Capacity
To evaluate the effect of functional overloading on the transplantation of muscle derived stem cells (MDSCs) into dystrophic muscle and the ability of transplanted cells to increase dystrophic muscle's ability to resist overloading-induced weakness.
The Synergistic Effect of Treadmill Running on Stem-cell Transplantation to Heal Injured Skeletal Muscle
Muscle-derived stem-cell (MDSC) transplantation presents a promising method for the treatment of muscle injuries. This study investigated the ability of exercise to enhance MDSC transplantation into the injured muscle. Mice were divided into four groups: contusion + phosphate-buffered saline (C + PBS; n = 14 muscles), C + MDSC transplantation (n = 12 muscles), C + PBS + treadmill running (C + PBS + TM; n = 17 muscles), and C + MDSC + TM (n = 13 muscles). One day after injury, the TM groups began running for 1 or 5 weeks. Two days after injury, muscles of C + MDSC and C + MDSC + TM groups were injected with MDSCs. One or 5 weeks later, the number and differentiation of transplanted MDSCs, myofiber regeneration, collagen I formation, and vascularity were assessed histologically. In vitro, MDSCs were subjected to mechanical stimulation, and growth kinetics were quantified. In vitro, mechanical stimulation decreased the MDSC population doubling time (18.6 +/- 1.6 h) and cell division time (10.9 +/- 0.7 h), compared with the controls (population doubling time: 23.0 +/- 3.4 h; cell division time: 13.3 +/- 1.1 h) (p = 0.01 and 0.03, respectively). In vivo, 5 weeks of TM increased the myogenic contribution of transplanted MDSCs, compared with the controls (p = 0.02). C + MDSC, C + PBS + TM, and C + MDSC + TM demonstrated decreased fibrosis at 5 weeks, compared with the C + PBS controls (p = 0.00, p = 0.03, and p = 0.02, respectively). Results suggest that the mechanical stimulation favors MDSC proliferation, both in vitro and in vivo, and that exercise enhances MDSC transplantation after injury.
