Superoxide dismutase gene expression in skeletal muscle: fiber-specific adaptation to endurance training

Acute exercise activates nuclear factor (NF)-kappaB signaling pathway in rat skeletal muscle

Two studies were performed to investigate the effects of an acute bout of physical exercise on the nuclear protein kappaB (NF-kappaB) signaling pathway in rat skeletal muscle. In Study 1, a group of rats (n=6) was run on the treadmill at 25 m/min, 5% grade, for 1 h or until exhaustion (Ex), and compared with a second group (n=6) injected with two doses of pyrrolidine dithiocarbamate (PDTC, 100 mg/kg, i.p.) 24 and 1 h prior to the acute exercise bout. Three additional groups of rats (n=6) were injected with either 8 mg/kg (i.p.) of lipopolysaccharide (LPS), 1 mmol/kg (i.p.) t-butylhydroperoxide (tBHP), or saline (C) and killed at resting condition. Ex rats showed higher levels of NF-kappaB binding and P50 protein content in muscle nuclear extracts compared with C rats. Cytosolic IkappaBalpha and IkappaB kinase (IKK) contents were decreased, whereas phospho-IkappaBalpha and phospho-IKK contents were increased, comparing Ex vs. C. The exercise-induced activation of NF-kappaB signaling cascade was partially abolished by PDTC treatment. LPS, but not tBHP, treatment mimicked and exaggerated the effects observed in Ex rats. In Study 2, the time course of exercise-induced NF-kappaB activation was examined. Highest levels of NF-kappaB binding were observed at 2 h postexercise. Decreased cytosolic IkappaBalpha and increased phosphor-IkappaBalpha content were found 0-1 h postexercise whereas P65 reached peak levels at 2-4 h. These data suggest that the NF-kappaB signaling pathway can be activated in a redox-sensitive manner during muscular contraction, presumably due to increased oxidant production. The cascade of intracellular events may be the overture to elevated gene expression of manganese superoxide dismutase reported earlier (Pfluegers Arch. 442, 426-434, 2001).

Subsarcolemmal and intermyofibrillar mitochondria play distinct roles in regulating skeletal muscle fatty acid metabolism

Skeletal muscle contains two populations of mitochondria that appear to be differentially affected by disease and exercise training. It remains unclear how these mitochondrial subpopulations contribute to fiber type-related and/or training-induced changes in fatty acid oxidation and regulation of carnitine palmitoyltransferase-1beta (CPT1beta), the enzyme that controls mitochondrial fatty acid uptake in skeletal muscle. To this end, we found that fatty acid oxidation rates were 8.9-fold higher in subsarcolemmal mitochondria (SS) and 5.3-fold higher in intermyofibrillar mitochondria (IMF) that were isolated from red gastrocnemius (RG) compared with white gastrocnemius (WG) muscle, respectively. Malonyl-CoA (10 muM), a potent inhibitor of CPT1beta, completely abolished fatty acid oxidation in SS and IMF mitochondria from WG, whereas oxidation rates in the corresponding fractions from RG were inhibited only 89% and 60%, respectively. Endurance training also elicited mitochondrial adaptations that resulted in enhanced fatty acid oxidation capacity. Ten weeks of treadmill running differentially increased palmitate oxidation rates 100% and 46% in SS and IMF mitochondria, respectively. In SS mitochondria, elevated fatty acid oxidation rates were accompanied by a 48% increase in citrate synthase activity but no change in CPT1 activity. Nonlinear regression analyses of mitochondrial fatty acid oxidation rates in the presence of 0-100 muM malonyl-CoA indicated that IC(50) values were neither dependent on mitochondrial subpopulation nor affected by exercise training. However, in IMF mitochondria, training reduced the Hill coefficient (P < 0.05), suggesting altered CPT1beta kinetics. These results demonstrate that endurance exercise provokes subpopulation-specific changes in mitochondrial function that are characterized by enhanced fatty acid oxidation and modified CPT1beta-malonyl-CoA dynamics.

Effects of increased dietary fat and exercise on skeletal muscle lipid peroxidation and antioxidant capacity in male rats

BACKGROUND

Elevated dietary fat increases oxidative metabolism and has been linked to increased oxidative stress, while exercise training may augment antioxidant capacity. Most studies examining oxidative stress in skeletal muscle employ extremely high levels of dietary fat and/or intense exercise training that may not adequately model human diet and activity patterns.

AIM

The purpose of this study was to examine the interaction between an elevated (40% of calories) monounsaturated fat diet and a moderate-intensity exercise program similar to recommended human exercise prescriptions, on skeletal muscle oxidative stress and antioxidant defenses.

METHODS

Twenty-four male Sprague-Dawley rats (approximately 500 g) were randomly divided into 4 groups (n = 6/group): Standard Diet-Sedentary (SD-Sed), Standard Diet-Exercise (SD-Ex), Elevated Fat Diet-Sedentary (EFD-Sed), and Elevated Fat Diet-Exercise (EFD-Ex). The SD groups consumed 76% of calories from CHO, 14% from protein, and 10 % from fat, while the EFD groups received a diet of 46% of calories from CHO, 14% from protein, and 40 % from fat (high oleic sunflower oil). The exercise groups were progressively treadmill trained at 20 m/min, 4 days/week increasing from 15 min/day to 35 min/day by the end of 4 wks.

RESULTS AND CONCLUSION

Antioxidant adaptations associated with exercise training or an elevated fat diet individually reduced basal lipid peroxidation levels in the plantaris muscle. However, the combination of exercise plus a monounsaturated fat diet increased lipid peroxidation levels above that with either treatment alone. This suggests an exhaustion of the antioxidant capacity in the plantaris muscle when both exercise and increased dietary fat diet are combined.

Mitochondrial function and antioxidative defence in human muscle: effects of endurance training and oxidative stress

The influence of endurance training on oxidative phosphorylation and the susceptibility of mitochondrial oxidative function to reactive oxygen species (ROS) was investigated in skeletal muscle of four men and four women. Mitochondria were isolated from muscle biopsies taken before and after 6 weeks of endurance training. Mitochondrial respiration was measured before and after exposure of mitochondria to exogenous ROS (H2O2 + FeCl2). Endurance training increased peak pulmonary O2 uptake (VO2,peak) by 24 % and maximal ADP-stimulated mitochondrial oxygen consumption (state 3) by 40% (P<0.05). Respiration in the absence of ADP (state 4), the respiratory control ratio (RCR = state 3/state 4) and the ratio between added ADP and consumed oxygen (P/O) remained unchanged by the training programme. Exposure to ROS reduced state 3 respiration but the effect was not significantly different between pre- and post-training samples. State 4 oxygen consumption increased after exposure to ROS both before (+189 %, P< 0.05) and after training (+243 %, P<0.05) and the effect was significantly higher after training (P<0.05, pre- vs. post-training). The augmented state 4 respiration could in part be attenuated by atractyloside, which indicates that ADP/ATP translocase was affected by ROS. The P/O ratio in ROS-treated mitochondria was significantly lower (P<0.05) compared to control conditions, both before (-18.6+/-2.2 %) and after training (-18.5+/-1.1%). Muscle activities of superoxide dismutase (mitochondrial and cytosolic), glutathione peroxidase and muscle glutathione status were unaffected by training. There was a positive correlation between muscle superoxide dismutase activity and age (r = 0.75; P<0.05; range of age 20-37 years), which may reflect an adaptation to increased generation of ROS in senescent muscle. The muscle glutathione pool was more reduced in subjects with high activity of glutathione peroxidase (r = 0.81; P<0.05). The influence of short-term training on mitochondrial oxygen consumption has for the first time been investigated in human skeletal muscle. The results showed that maximal mitochondrial oxidative power is increased after endurance training but that the efficiency of energy transfer (P/O ratio) remained unchanged. Antioxidative defence was unchanged after training when expressed relative to muscle weight. Although this corresponds to a reduced antioxidant protection per individual mitochondrion, the sensitivity of aerobic energy transfer to ROS was unchanged. However, the augmented ROS-induced non-coupled respiration after training indicates an increased susceptibility of mitochondrial membrane proton conductance to oxidative stress.