Description
Background: Skeletal muscle wasting and impaired muscle function in response to mechanical ventilation and immobilization in intensive care unit (ICU) patients are clinically challenging partly due to (i) the poorly understood intricate cellular and molecular networks; and (ii) the unavailability of an animal model mimicking this condition. By employing a unique porcine model mimicking the conditions in the ICU with long-term mechanical ventilation and immobilization, we have analyzed the expression profile of skeletal muscle biopsies taken at three time points during a five-day period.