Areas of Interest
John Faulkner’s research focuses on the mechanical properties of whole skeletal muscles and single skeletal muscle fibers from young through old mice. He and his associates study the changes that occur in the mechanical properties of skeletal muscle fibers from muscles of wild type, knockout, and transgenic mice during and following injury, fatigue and regeneration. Skeletal muscle fibers are injured by diseases; reactive oxygen species, direct injury; extremes of temperature; ischemia; and high forces developed during contractions. The goal is to devise techniques to reduce the deficits. Age involved is a major factor in the magnitude of the injury, rate of recovery and deficits incurred.
Selected Publications:
Dow, D., Dennis, R., Faulkner, J.A. "Electrical Stimulation Attenuates Age-related Atrophy in EDL Muscles of Old Rats." Journal of Gerontology: Biological Sciences, (In Review) 2004.
Kosnik, P.E., Faulkner, J.A., Dennis, R.G. "Contractility and Myosin Heavy Chain Content of Skeletal Muscle Engineered from Adult and Aged Rats." Tissue Engineering, (In Review) 2004.
Dow, D., Faulkner, J.A., Dennis, R." Number of Contractions to Maintain Mass and Force of a Denervated Rat Muscle." Muscle & Nerve, 30:77-86, July, 2004.
McArdle, A., Dillmann, W., Mestril, R., Faulkner, J.A., Jackson, M.J. Over-Expression of HSP70 in Mouse Skeletal Muscle Protects Against Muscle Damage and Age-Related Muscle Dysfunction. FASEB Journal, 18(2),355-7, 2004.
McArdle A, van der Meulen JH, Close GL, Pattwell D, van Remmen H, Huang TT, Richardson AG, Epstein CJ, Faulkner J.A., Jackson MJ. The role of mitochondrial superoxide dismutase in contraction-induced generation of reactive oxygen species in skeletal muscle extracellular space. Am J Physiol, Cell Physiol. 286, C1152 – 1158, 2004.
Faulkner, J. A. Terminology for contractions of muscles during shortening, while isometric, and during lengthening. J. Appl. Physiology, 95: 455-459, 2003.
Dennis, R.G., Dow, D.E., Faulkner, J.A. "An Implantable Device for Stimulation of Denervated Muscles in Rats." Medical Engineering & Physics, 25: 239-253, 2003.
Carlson, B. M., Borisov, A.B., Dedkov, E. I., Khalyfa, A., Kostrominova, T. Y., MacPherson, P.C.D., Wang, E., and Faulkner, J. A." Effects of Long-Term Denervation on Skeletal Muscle in Old Rats." J. Gerontology: Biological Sciences, 57A: B366-B374, 2002.