Millicent Rice

• Investigating changes in protein levels from patients with mitochondrial myopathies after resistance training to understand the mechanism of benefit
• BSc Hons Biomedical Genetics

Mitochondrial myopathies are a common type of neuromuscular disorder, which gives rise to mitochondrial oxidative phosphorylation (OXPHOS) dysfunction. These disorders have life-limiting effects and are currently incurable. Recent research into possible therapies found that resistance exercise training has therapeutic benefits for patients.

My project aimed to investigate Nicotinamide N-methyltransferase (NNMT) levels in skeletal muscle from patients who previously undertook a 16-week resistance exercise training, and to assess whether NNMT level correlates with OXPHOS dysfunction. To scrutinize NNMT, I undertook immunofluorescence staining on pre- and post-exercise samples, enabling visualisation and quantification of NNMT levels. Analysis of the data revealed that in some post-exercise cases NNMT protein level was increased. Furthermore, correlation analysis unveiled a significant association between OXPHOS dysfunction and NNMT level in a subset of patients. This is an exciting avenue for further investigation, to see how NNMT could be involved in the mechanism benefiting patients after resistance exercise intervention.

Funded by: Newcastle University Research Scholarship

Project Supervisor: Dr Amy Vincent