- The effect of intermittent hypoxia training on heart haemodynamics and the level of oxidative stress
- Investigators
- A/Prof Gillian Renshaw and Dr Glenn Harrison
- Email addresses
- g.renshaw@griffith.edu.au or g.harrison@griffith.edu.au
This project is a collaboration with Royal Brisbane Hospital. Cardiovascular disease is the leading cause of mortality in Australia. Intermittent Hypoxia training can be used to deliver a mild physiological stress that turns on protective pathways through hypoxia inducible factor and its downstream targets to protect the heart from injury. We have demonstrated that in healthy subjects, IHT significantly increased red blood cell counts. Before IHT can be used in patients with heart disease we need to determine the effect of IHT on the level of oxidative stress and heart haemodynamics. The project will be carried out on human subjects recruited from the catheterisation lab at Royal Brisbane Hospital.
- The use of lactoferrin supplementation to prevent the reduction of innate immunity in elite athletes
- Investigator
- A/Prof Gillian Renshaw, Prof Allan Cripps
- Email address
- g.renshaw@griffith.edu.au
This research project is being carried out in conjunction with the AIS, Canberra. Both stress and exercise can reduce the effectiveness of the immune system. Elite athletes suffer an increased incidence of upper respiratory tract infections as training schedules are intensified. These are largely due to the reduction of the innate immune system which fights infection before antibodies can be made. We are testing the effect of a supplement which mimics one of the key factors produced by the innate immune system (lactoferrin) on the incidence of upper respiratory tract infections in elite athletes at the AIS. The results of this project would have implications for sports performance and the health of populations at risk in the wider community.
- An analysis of the genetic fingerprint of cardioprotection at low oxygen levels
- Investigator
- A/Prof Gillian Renshaw, Prof John Headrick
- Email address
- g.renshaw@griffith.edu.au
This research project is expected to reveal novel cardio-protective genes using an animal model which would have relevance to human health and sport performance by reducing the detrimental biochemical changes associated with ischemia. Most vertebrates including humans cannot survive prolonged episodes of diminished oxygen to vital organs such as the heart and brain. The epaulette shark is one of the few vertebrates that can survive extended periods of hypoxia (low oxygen) and even anoxia (zero oxygen) at tropical temperatures. We are the only lab in the world to have a subtraction cDNA library derived from the epaulette shark in its cardio-protected state. This ongoing project involves interrogating the library using micro-array technology to determine the profile of gene expression that corresponds to the protected state