Marta
Middle Name
L.
Fiorotto, Ph.D.
Middle Name
L.
Picture
Positions
- Associate Professor
-
Pediatrics-Nutrition
Baylor College of Medicine
Houston, TX US
- Associate Professor
-
Molecular Physiology and Biophysics
Baylor College of Medicine
Houston, Texas United States
- Director
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Mouse Metabolic Research Unit
Children's Nutrition Research Center
Baylor College of Medicine
Houston, Texas United States
Education
- Post-Doctoral Fellowship at Baylor College Of Medicine
- 01/1982 - Houston, TX United States
- BSc from University of Manchester Institute of Science and Technology
- 01/1976 - Manchester, United Kingdom
- PhD from University of Cambridge
- 01/1980 - Cambridge, United Kingdom
Professional Interests
- Developmental Determinants of Skeletal Muscle Growth
Professional Statement
The major objective of our research is to identify the mechanisms that underlie the various effects of nutrient intake on the growth and function of skeletal muscle. In the perinatal period, skeletal muscle is the fastest growing protein pool in the body and, thus, is highly dependent on nutrient supply and the ability to use dietary nutrients efficiently. Thus, one of our research interests is to understand how nutrients regulate the primary anabolic processes responsible for muscle growth, i.e., protein synthesis and satellite cell replication during this period.A second research interest is rooted in the observation that a brief period of growth retardation during a critical period of development results in a lifelong deficit in muscle mass and exercise capacity. We are conducting research to understand why this happens and to identify interventions that can reverse the muscle deficit and improve exercise performance.
We perform studies using the mouse and the newborn piglet as animal models, together with a wide array of techniques including in vivo tracer kinetics, in vivo metabolic measurements, an assortment of molecular biology techniques, microscopy, cell culture, and muscle physiology measurements to address these research questions.
Websites
Selected Publications
- Davis TA, Fiorotto ML "Regulation of muscle growth in neonates.." Curr Opin Clin Nutr Metab Care. 2009 January ; 12 (1): 78-85. Pubmed PMID: 19057192
- Fiorotto ML, Sosa HA, Davis TA "In vivo measurement of muscle protein synthesis rate using the flooding dose technique.." Methods Mol. Biol.. 2012 798 : 245-64. Pubmed PMID: 22130841
- Radley-Crabb HG, Marini JC, Sosa HA, Castillo LI, Grounds MD, Fiorotto ML "Dystropathology Increases Energy Expenditure and Protein Turnover in the Mdx Mouse Model of Duchenne Muscular Dystrophy." PLoS ONE. 2014 February 19; 9 (89277): Pubmed PMID: 24586653
- Fiorotto, ML, Davis TA, Sosa HA, Villegas-Montoya C, Estrada I, Fleischmann R. "Ribosome abundance regulates the recovery of skeletal muscle protein mass upon recuperation from postnatal undernutrition in mice." 2014 September 19; 592 (23): 5269-5286. Pubmed PMID: 25239457
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