Evidence map›Paper›PMID 29892747›Full record

ArticleLab on a chip2018

NemaFlex: a microfluidics-based technology for standardized measurement of muscular strength of C. elegans.

Mizanur Rahman, Jennifer E Hewitt, Frank Van-Bussel, Hunter Edwards, Jerzy Blawzdziewicz, Nathaniel J Szewczyk, Monica Driscoll, Siva A Vanapalli

Open access · greenAbstract read
In one paragraph

Article in Lab on a chip, 2018. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 27 papers.

0numbers the graph read from it
0cells of the map it votes in
27citing papers in PubMed
3.0field-weighted citation impact, top 9% of its field
1 · What the graph read from it

What it found

Each row is one number read from the abstract, on the scale the paper reported it, with its interval. Left of the dashed line favours the treatment, right favours the comparator. Under each row is the sentence it came from. New to these charts? A ten-minute tutorial.

The abstract states no effect estimate the extractor could read, or names no intervention and outcome on the map, so this paper lights no cell and moves no belief. It is still indexed, cited and linked below.

2 · The registry

The trial behind it

Trials whose registry record cites this paper, or whose number appears in the abstract. A trial that started after this paper was published is citing it as background, not reporting it.

Neither the registry nor the abstract names a trial number. If this is a trial report, that itself is worth knowing.

3 · Its place in the literature

Who cites it

27 citing papers in PubMed, 46 citations in OpenAlex.

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  9. Mitochondrial sulfide promotes life span and health span through distinct mechanisms in developing versus adult treatedProceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the United States of America · 2023
    Article
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  11. A Compact Imaging Platform for ConductingLife (Basel, Switzerland) · 2023
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  15. Mitochondrial hydrogen sulfide supplementation improves health in theProceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the United States of America · 2021
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4 · The record

Corrections and comments

PubMed lists nothing against this paper. Absence here is not a guarantee, only a check that was made.

5 · Who and what money

Authors and funding

8 authors at 3 institutions in 3 countries.

Mizanur RahmanDepartment of Chemical Engineering, Texas Tech University, Lubbock, TX 79409, USA. siva.vanapalli@ttu.edu.
Jennifer E Hewitt
Frank Van-Bussel
Hunter Edwards
Jerzy Blawzdziewicz
Nathaniel J Szewczyk
Monica Driscoll
Siva A Vanapalli
Texas Tech University · USRutgers, The State University of New Jersey · USUniversity of Nottingham · GB

Funding

Enhancing and expanding the CGC Strain CollectionP40OD010440 · OD · UNIVERSITY OF MINNESOTA · PI Ann E. Rougvie · 2012 to 2026
$7.5M
Genetic Dissection of Mechanisms by Which Exercise Promotes Systemic HealthR01AG051995 · NIA · RUTGERS, THE STATE UNIV OF N.J. · PI DRISCOLL, MONICA A. · 2016 to 2020
$2.0M
A Strength Analysis Tool for Studying Healthy Aging via Exercise in C. elegansR21AG050503 · NIA · TEXAS TECH UNIVERSITY · PI DRISCOLL, MONICA A., VANAPALLI, SIVA A · 2015 to 2016
$420k
Biotechnology and Biological Sciences Research Council N015894NIA NIH HHS R01 AG051995NIA NIH HHS R21 AG050503NIH HHS P40 OD010440
6 · The paper itself

Abstract

Muscle strength is a functional measure of quality of life in humans. Declines in muscle strength are manifested in diseases as well as during inactivity, aging, and space travel. With conserved muscle biology, the simple genetic model C. elegans is a high throughput platform in which to identify molecular mechanisms causing muscle strength loss and to develop interventions based on diet, exercise, and drugs. In the clinic, standardized strength measures are essential to quantitate changes in patients; however, analogous standards have not been recapitulated in the C. elegans model since force generation fluctuates based on animal behavior and locomotion. Here, we report a microfluidics-based system for strength measurement that we call 'NemaFlex', based on pillar deflection as the nematode crawls through a forest of pillars. We have optimized the micropillar forest design and identified robust measurement conditions that yield a measure of strength that is independent of behavior and gait. Validation studies using a muscle contracting agent and mutants confirm that NemaFlex can reliably score muscular strength in C. elegans. Additionally, we report a scaling factor to account for animal size that is consistent with a biomechanics model and enables comparative strength studies of mutants. Taken together, our findings anchor NemaFlex for applications in genetic and drug screens, for defining molecular and cellular circuits of neuromuscular function, and for dissection of degenerative processes in disuse, aging, and disease.

Indexed as

Lab-On-A-Chip DevicesMuscle StrengthAnimalsBody SizeCaenorhabditis elegansReference Standards

Identifiers

PMID29892747
PMCPMC6057834
OpenAlexW2807282771

What OpenQuestion holds

Textmetadata
LicenceTDM
Read underepoch 390

Registered trials

None linked

Read under generation 80e0d062 · epoch 390. Bibliography from PubMed, PubMed Central and OpenAlex; grants from NIH RePORTER; trial links from ClinicalTrials.gov; estimates, votes and beliefs from the OpenQuestion graph.