Martin Schonk
Graduate Student, Biomedical Sciences Program-Physiology and Aging Concentration
Cancer often causes patients to lose muscle, a condition called cachexia. This muscle loss can make patients weaker, lower their quality of life, and make cancer treatment harder to tolerate. Despite this serious impact, there is currently no effective treatment to prevent or reverse cancer cachexia. To better understand why this muscle loss occurs, we analyzed muscle samples from pancreatic cancer patients and found that a protein called FoxP1 was increased. FoxP1 acts like a genetic switch, helping control which genes are turned on or off. Importantly, higher levels of FoxP1 in the muscles of pancreatic cancer patients were associated with more severe cachexia, suggesting that FoxP1 may play a role in cancer-associated muscle wasting. To test this hypothesis, we used a mouse model of pancreatic cancer and removed FoxP1 specifically from muscle cells. We found that deleting FoxP1 made muscle fibers larger under normal conditions and attenuated muscle loss and weakness during cancer. These results suggest that FoxP1 acts as a negative regulator of muscle mass playing a role during cancer cachexia. Better understanding this pathway could help develop better therapies to preserve strength and quality of life in patients with cancer.
Martin Schonk is a PhD candidate in the Dept. of Physical Therapy. Martin studies cancer cachexia, a condition in which cancer causes severe muscle wasting, weakness, and reduced quality of life. His research focuses on understanding how pancreatic tumors disrupt skeletal muscle and identifying biological pathways that could be targeted to help preserve muscle health in patients with cancer.
Core Standards
SC.912.L.14.3
Compare and contrast the general structures of plant and animal cells. Compare and contrast the general structures of prokaryotic and eukaryotic cells.
SC.912.L.14.6
Explain the significance of genetic factors, environmental factors, and pathogenic agents to health from the perspectives of both individual and public health.
SC.912.L.16.8
Explain the relationship between mutation, cell cycle, and uncontrolled cell growth potentially resulting in cancer.
SC.912.L.16.9
Explain how and why the genetic code is universal and is common to almost all organisms.
SC.912.L.16.10
Evaluate the impact of biotechnology on the individual, society and the environment, including medical and ethical issues.
PE.912.L.4.7:
Identify health-related problems associated with low levels of cardiorespiratory endurance, muscular strength, endurance, flexibility, and body composition.
