BIO

My name is Mariana Lima and I’m currently pursuing a BS in Exercise Physiology here at FSU! I’m originally from Brazil, but I’ve lived in Florida for most of my life and knew attending an incredible Florida institution such as Florida State was my first choice. I plan on attending medical school after I graduate, and began doing research in Dr. Steiner's lab as an introduction to the science and research world. Quickly fell in love with learning about muscle and all of the work she has been doing in that lab.

Low-Dose Alcohol Consumption Throughout Chemotherapy Does Not Amplify Muscle Wasting

Abstract

Chronically high levels of alcohol consumption leads to skeletal muscle wasting, contributing to myopathy and cachexia. Chemotherapy treatment can induce cachexia independently of the presence of cancer. Furthermore, consuming alcohol while receiving chemotherapy treatment has unknown effects but may further exacerbate muscle wasting. To determine if alcohol consumption further worsens rodent skeletal muscle loss due to chemotherapy treatment. Male BALB/c mice (n= 23), were randomized into 4 groups (n= 4-8/gr): Control-Chemo, Control-non-Chemo, EtOH-Chemo, EtOH-non-Chemo. Mice consumed 8% v/v EtOH in drinking water for 20 weeks. Control-Chemo and EtOH-Chemo mice received intraperitoneal injections of the chemotherapy treatment FOLFIRI for 3 weeks until sacrifice, while Control-non-Chemo and EtOH-non-Chemo mice received vehicle (saline). Mice were euthanized when the average weight loss of the chemotherapy-treated group was 15-20% of initial bodyweight. The gastrocnemius and quadriceps muscles, tibias, spleen, seminal vesicles, and testes, were excised. Tissue weight data were normalized to tibia length and analyzed via 2-way ANOVA. Both treatments significantly decreased body weight (p<0.05), while chemotherapy reduced seminal vesicle and teste weights. Independent samples t-test show alcohol consumption reduces spleen weight (p=0.0424) during chemotherapy. A trend for a main effect of chemotherapy treatment was detected for gastrocnemius and quadricep mass (p=0.07-0.09), but no further effects of alcohol were observed. Low-dose alcohol consumption did not exacerbate muscle atrophy due to chemotherapy. Results should be validated in follow-up work with larger sample sizes.

Keywords: muscle, alcohol, chemotherapy