Dr Aivaras Ratkevicius

Profile

Dr. Aivaras Ratkevicius worked at the Copenhagen Muscle Research Centre (CMRC) of University of Copenhagen as a Guest Researcher over the period from 1993 to 1998. Then he got involved in teaching of Medical Biochemistry and Metabolism as Assistant Professor at the University of Copenhagen. In 2002 he moved to UK and worked as a Senior Lecturer in Sports and Exercise Science at the University of Sunderland. In 2005, Dr. Aivaras Ratkevicius moved to the Institute of Medical Sciences, University of Aberdeen where he did research and teaching in sports science and molecular exercise physiology. In 2016, he was appointed as a Professor at the Lithuanian Sports University where he lead research in the area of Muscles, Motor Control and Health Promotion. He is now a Senior Lecturer in Sports Medicine at the Queen Mary University of London.

Research

Dr. Aivaras Ratkevicius has studied human muscle metabolism using P31-NMR spectroscopy at the University of Copenhagen. He later worked on the role of mitochondrial citrate synthase in metabolism using cell cultures and mouse models. He also did research on the functional role of myostatin in ageing-related muscle weakness and adaptations to exercise training. His latest research focused on adaptations of skeletal muscles to caloric restriction and dietary factors.

Key Publications

• Minderis P, Fokin A, Dirmontas M, Kvedaras M, Ratkevicius A. Caloric restriction per se rather than dietary macronutrient distribution plays a primary role in metabolic health and body composition improvements in obese Mice. Nutrients. 2021 Aug 28;13(9):3004. doi: 10.3390/nu13093004.
• Kvedaras M, Minderis P, Cesanelli L, Cekanauskaite A, Ratkevicius A. Effects of fasting on skeletal muscles and body fat of adult and old C57BL/6J mice. Exp Gerontol. 2021 Sep;152:111474. doi: 10.1016/j.exger.2021.111474.
• Kvedaras M, Minderis P, Krusnauskas R, Lionikas A, Ratkevicius A. Myostatin dysfunction is associated with lower physical activity and reduced improvements in glucose tolerance in response to caloric restriction in Berlin high mice. Exp Gerontol. 2019 Dec;128:110751. doi: 10.1016/j.exger.2019.110751.
• Gabriel BM, Al-Tarrah M, Alhindi Y, Kilikevicius A, Venckunas T, Gray SR, Lionikas A, Ratkevicius A. H55N polymorphism is associated with low citrate synthase activity which regulates lipid metabolism in mouse muscle cells. PLoS One. 2017 Nov 2;12(11):e0185789. doi: 10.1371/journal.pone.0185789.
• Ratkevicius A, Joyson A, Selmer I, Dhanani T, Grierson C, Tommasi AM, DeVries A, Rauchhaus P, Crowther D, Alesci S, Yaworsky P, Gilbert F, Redpath TW, Brady J, Fearon KC, Reid DM, Greig CA, Wackerhage H. Serum concentrations of myostatin and myostatin-interacting proteins do not differ between young and sarcopenic elderly men. J Gerontol A Biol Sci Med Sci. 2011 Jun;66(6):620-6. doi: 10.1093/gerona/glr025.
• Ratkevicius A, Carroll AM, Kilikevicius A, Venckunas T, McDermott KT, Gray SR, Wackerhage H, Lionikas A. H55N polymorphism as a likely cause of variation in citrate synthase activity of mouse skeletal muscle. Physiol Genomics. 2010 Oct;42A(2):96-102. doi: 10.1152/physiolgenomics.00066.2010.
• Ratkevicius A, Quistorff B. Metabolic costs of force generation for constant-frequency and catchlike-inducing electrical stimulation in human tibialis anterior muscle. Muscle Nerve. 2002 Mar;25(3):419-26. doi: 10.1002/mus.10064.
• Ratkevicius A, Mizuno M, Povilonis E, Quistorff B. Energy metabolism of the gastrocnemius and soleus muscles during isometric voluntary and electrically induced contractions in man. J Physiol. 1998 Mar 1;507 ( Pt 2)(Pt 2):593-602. doi: 10.1111/j.1469-7793.1998.593bt.x.

Collaborators

• Dr. Stuart R. Gray, University of Glasgow
• Prof. Henning Wackerhage, Technical University of Munich, Germany
• Dr. Arimantas Lionikas, University of Aberdeen
• Prof. Tomas Venckunas, Lithuanian Sports University, Lithuania