Atrophy and hypertrophy signals in skeletal muscle in young men : relation to sex steroids, thyroid and somatotropic hormones.

This research proposal investigates the effects of sex steroids, thyroid hormones and somatotropic hormones on the determination of skeletal muscle mass in man. Muscle biopsies will be taken and analysed by RT-PCR, investigating the relationship between the expression of atotrophy- and hypertrophy signaling molecules and hormonal concentrations. The interaction between fat and skeletal muscle will be investigated using molecular techniques.