Severe endurance training fails to change myosin heavy-chain distribution of diaphragm

Voluntary wheel exercise training affects locomotor muscle, but not the diaphragm in the rat

Introduction: Functional tests and training regimens intensity-controlled by an individual are used in sport practice, clinical rehabilitation, and space medicine. The model of voluntary wheel running in rats can be used to explore molecular mechanisms of such training regimens in humans. Respiratory and locomotor muscles demonstrate diverse adaptations to treadmill exercise, but the effects of voluntary exercise training on these muscle types have not been compared yet. Therefore, this work aimed at the effects of voluntary ET on rat triceps brachii and diaphragm muscles with special attention to reactive oxygen species, which regulate muscle plasticity during exercise. Methods: Male Wistar rats were distributed into exercise trained (ET) and sedentary (Sed) groups. ET group had free access to running wheels, running activity was continuously recorded and analyzed using the original hardware/software complex. After 8 weeks, muscle protein contents were studied using Western blotting. Results: ET rats had increased heart ventricular weights but decreased visceral/epididymal fat weights and blood triglyceride level compared to Sed. The training did not change corticosterone, testosterone, and thyroid hormone levels, but decreased TBARS content in the blood. ET rats demonstrated higher contents of OXPHOS complexes in the triceps brachii muscle, but not in the diaphragm. The content of SOD2 increased, and the contents of NOX2 and SOD3 decreased in the triceps brachii muscle of ET rats, while there were no such changes in the diaphragm. Conclusion: Voluntary wheel running in rats is intensive enough to govern specific adaptations of muscle fibers in locomotor, but not respiratory muscle.

Increased fatigue resistance linked to Ca2+-stimulated mitochondrial biogenesis in muscle fibres of cold-acclimated mice

Mammals exposed to a cold environment initially generate heat by repetitive muscle activity (shivering). Shivering is successively replaced by the recruitment of uncoupling protein-1 (UCP1)-dependent heat production in brown adipose tissue. Interestingly, adaptations observed in skeletal muscles of cold-exposed animals are similar to those observed with endurance training. We hypothesized that increased myoplasmic free [Ca2+] ([Ca2+]i) is important for these adaptations. To test this hypothesis, experiments were performed on flexor digitorum brevis (FDB) muscles, which do not participate in the shivering response, of adult wild-type (WT) and UCP1-ablated (UCP1-KO) mice kept either at room temperature (24°C) or cold-acclimated (4°C) for 4-5 weeks. [Ca2+]i (measured with indo-1) and force were measured under control conditions and during fatigue induced by repeated tetanic stimulation in intact single fibres. The results show no differences between fibres from WT and UCP1-KO mice. However, muscle fibres from cold-acclimated mice showed significant increases in basal [Ca2+]i (∼50%), tetanic [Ca2+]i (∼40%), and sarcoplasmic reticulum (SR) Ca2+ leak (∼fourfold) as compared to fibres from room-temperature mice. Muscles of cold-acclimated mice showed increased expression of peroxisome proliferator-activated receptor-γ coactivator-1α (PGC-1α) and increased citrate synthase activity (reflecting increased mitochondrial content). Fibres of cold-acclimated mice were more fatigue resistant with higher tetanic [Ca2+]i and less force loss during fatiguing stimulation. In conclusion, cold exposure induces changes in FDB muscles similar to those observed with endurance training and we propose that increased [Ca2+]i is a key factor underlying these adaptations.

Correlation of dystrophin-glycoprotein complex and focal adhesion complex with myosin heavy chain isoforms in rat skeletal muscle

AIM

The dystrophin-glycoprotein complex (DGC) and focal adhesion complex (FAC) are transmembrane structures in muscle fibres that link the intracellular cytoskeleton to the extracellular matrix. DGC and FAC proteins are abundant in slow-type muscles, indicating the structural reinforcement which play a pivotal role in continuous force output to maintain posture for long periods. The aim of the present study was to examine the expression of these structures across fast-type muscles containing different myosin heavy chain (MHC) isoform patterns which reflect the fatigue-resistant characteristics of skeletal muscle.

METHODS

We measured the expression of dystrophin and beta1 integrin (representative proteins of DGC and FAC respectively) in plantaris, extensor digitorum longus, tibialis anterior, red and white portions of gastrocnemius, superficial portion of vastus lateralis and diaphragm, in comparison with soleus (SOL) and cardiac muscle from rats.

RESULTS

The expression of dystrophin and beta1 integrin correlated positively with the percentage of type I, IIa and IIx MHC isoforms and negatively with that of type IIb MHC isoform in fast-type skeletal muscles, and their expression was abundant in SOL and cardiac muscle.

CONCLUSION

Our results support the idea that DGC and FAC are among the factors that explain the fatigue-resistant property not only of slow-type but also of fast-type skeletal muscles.

Effect of endurance training and acute exercise on sarcoplasmic reticulum function in rat fast- and slow-twitch skeletal muscles

Following 10 weeks of endurance training and in age-matched sedentary rats, sarcoplasmic reticulum (SR) Ca(2+)-uptake, Ca(2+)-release, and Ca(2+)-stimulated adenosinetriphosphatase (ATPase) activity were examined in homogenates of the plantaris and soleus muscles from rats subjected to moderate-intensity treadmill running to exhaustion. In order to examine the effects of acute exercise and/or training on SR Ca(2+)-handling capacity, comparisons between exhausted and non-exercised rats and between trained and untrained rats were performed. Our data confirm that Ca(2+)-sequestration by the SR from fast-twitch muscles is depressed after training. Immediately after exhaustive running, decreases in SR function occurred in both muscles, but were more pronounced in the soleus. In the plantaris, reductions in SR Ca(2+)-uptake rate and Ca(2+)-ATPase activity were observed in untrained rats only, while in the soleus they were adversely affected irrespective of training status. Although the average run time to exhaustion varied markedly between untrained and trained animals (untrained: 253.0 min; trained: 559.4 min), no differences existed with regard to the magnitude of decreases in SR function in the soleus after exercise. The mean rate of decline in SR Ca(2+)-handling capacity during acute exercise, as estimated from the run time and the extent of the decline, was more than twofold higher in untrained than in trained soleus. From the present study, it is unclear whether there exists a causal relationship between muscular fatigue and SR function because the run time to exhaustion was not significantly correlated with any of parameters indicative of SR Ca(2+)-handling capacity, but suggested that endurance training may be capable of delaying a progression of the deterioration in SR function that occurs during exercise.

Endurance training-induced changes in alkali light chain patterns in type IIB fibers of the rat

The effects of endurance training on the expression of myosin were electrophoretically analyzed in the deep portion of vastus lateralis muscle from the rat. A 10-wk running program led to increases (P < 0.01) in myosin heavy chain (MHC) 2a and 2d with a decrease (P < 0.01) in MHC(2b). Training also evoked a rearrangement of the isomyosin pattern with decreases in fast isomyosin (FM) 1 (P < 0.01) and FM2 (P < 0.05) and a rise in intermediate isomyosin (P < 0.01). These changes were accompanied by a 61% decrease (P < 0.01) in myosin light chain (MLC) 3F (11.8 +/- 2.7 vs. 4.6 +/- 4.2%). Two-dimensional electrophoresis made it possible to separate the triplet of isomyosins (FMb) consisting of MHC(2b). Training elicited a 26% decrease (P < 0.05) in the FM1b fraction within FMb, i.e., FM1b/(FM1b + FM2b + FM3b) (24.2 +/- 5.5 vs. 18.0 +/- 4.3%). These changes resulted in a 10% decrease (P < 0.05) in the MLC(3F) fraction, i.e., MLC(3F)/(MLC(1F) + MLC(3F)), in FMb (44.9 +/- 4.5 vs. 40.3 +/- 3.2%). These results suggest that endurance training may exert the depressive effect on the contractile velocity of type IIB fibers and that a training-induced decrease in the contractile velocity of whole muscle may be caused by alterations in fast alkali MLC complements within a given fiber type as well as by transitions in MHC-based fiber populations.

Myosin heavy chain and physiological adaptation of the rat diaphragm in elastase-induced emphysema

BACKGROUND

Several physiological adaptations occur in the respiratory muscles in rodent models of elastase-induced emphysema. Although the contractile properties of the diaphragm are altered in a way that suggests expression of slower isoforms of myosin heavy chain (MHC), it has been difficult to demonstrate a shift in MHCs in an animal model that corresponds to the shift toward slower MHCs seen in human emphysema.

METHODS

We sought to identify MHC and corresponding physiological changes in the diaphragms of rats with elastase-induced emphysema. Nine rats with emphysema and 11 control rats were studied 10 months after instillation with elastase. MHC isoform composition was determined by both reverse transcriptase polymerase chain reaction (RT-PCR) and immunocytochemistry by using specific probes able to identify all known adult isoforms. Physiological adaptation was studied on diaphragm strips stimulated in vitro.

RESULTS

In addition to confirming that emphysematous diaphragm has a decreased fatigability, we identified a significantly longer time-to-peak-tension (63.9 +/- 2.7 ms versus 53.9 +/- 2.4 ms). At both the RNA (RT-PCR) and protein (immunocytochemistry) levels, we found a significant decrease in the fastest, MHC isoform (IIb) in emphysema.

CONCLUSION

This is the first demonstration of MHC shifts and corresponding physiological changes in the diaphragm in an animal model of emphysema. It is established that rodent emphysema, like human emphysema, does result in a physiologically significant shift toward slower diaphragmatic MHC isoforms. In the rat, this occurs at the faster end of the MHC spectrum than in humans.

Inspiratory muscle performance in endurance athletes and sedentary subjects

OBJECTIVE

The aim of this study was to determine whether whole-body endurance training is associated with increased respiratory muscle strength and endurance.

METHODOLOGY

Respiratory muscle strength (maximum inspiratory pressure (PImax)) and endurance (progressive threshold loading of the inspiratory muscles) were measured in six marathon runners and six sedentary subjects.

RESULTS

PImax was similar between the two groups of subjects but the maximum threshold pressure achieved was greater in marathon runners (90 +/- 8 vs 78 +/- 10% of PImax, respectively, mean +/- SD, P < 0.05). During progressive threshold loading, marathon runners breathed with lower frequency, higher tidal volume, and longer inspiratory and expiratory time. At maximum threshold pressure, marathon runners had lower arterial O2 saturation, but perceived effort (Borg scale) was maximal in both groups. Efficiency of the respiratory muscles was similar in both groups being 2.0 +/- 1.7% and 2.3 +/- 1.8% for marathon runners and sedentary subjects, respectively.

CONCLUSIONS

The apparent increase in respiratory muscle endurance of athletes was a consequence of a difference in the breathing pattern adopted during loaded breathing rather than respiratory muscle strength or efficiency. This implies that sensory rather than respiratory muscle conditioning may be an important mechanism by which whole-body endurance is increased.

Muscle phenotype remains unaltered after limb autotomy and unloading

Loss of chelipeds in crustaceans results in severe atrophy of the major muscle responsible for lifting the limb, the anterior levator. We decided to test if this loss of mechanical load altered muscle phenotype as measured by SDS-PAGE analysis of levator total protein and actomyosin fractions. Levator muscles of adult crayfish, Procambarus clarkii, with either functional regenerate limbs or lack of limb buds (papilla stage) were compared with those from normal contralateral limbs and those from pristine animals. We find that there is no difference in protein profiles among the three conditions. However, the total protein profile for the dually excited levator muscle is unique compared to those of fast or slow muscles of the abdomen (L and SEL, respectively), which receive only phasic or tonic excitatory innervation. The levator myosin heavy chain profile is similar to that of slow phenotype muscles such as the SEL and opener. We conclude that load does not influence levator phenotype. This is likely due either to the intact innervation and continued activation of the levator during atrophy or to the maintenance of passive tension on the muscle. J. Exp. Zool. 289:10-22, 2001.

Antioxidants and mitochondrial respiration in lung, diaphragm, and locomotor muscles: effect of exercise

Previous studies have shown that exhaustive exercise may increase reactive oxygen species (ROS) generation in oxidative muscles that may in turn impair mitochondrial respiration. Locomotor muscles have been extensively examined, but there is few report about diaphragm or lung. The later is a privileged site for oxygen transit. To compare the antioxidant defense system and mitochondrial function in lung, diaphragm and locomotor muscles after exercise, 24 young adult male rats were randomly assigned to a control (C) or exercise (E) group. E group rats performed an exhaustive running test on a motorized treadmill at 80-85% VO2max Mean exercise duration was 66+/-2.7 min. Lung, costal diaphragm, mixed gastrocnemius, and oxidative muscles (red gastrocnemius and soleus: RG/SOL homogenate) were sampled. Mitochondrial respiration was assessed in tissue homogenates by respiratory control index (RCI: rate of uncoupled respiration/rate of basal respiration) measurement. Lipid peroxidation was evaluated by malondialdehyde concentration (MDA) and we determined the activity of two antioxidant enzymes: superoxide dismutase (SOD) and glutathione peroxidase (GPX). We found elevated basal (C group data) SOD and GPX activities in both lung and diaphragm compared to locomotor muscles (p<.001). Exercise led to a rise in GPX activity in red locomotor muscles homogenate (GR/SOL; C = 10.3+/-0.29 and E = 14.4+/-1.51 micromol x min(-1) x gww(-1); p<.05), whereas there was no significant change in lung and diaphragm. MDA concentration and mitochondrial RCI values were not significantly changed after exercise. We conclude that lung and diaphragm had higher antioxidant protection than locomotor muscles. The exercise test did not lead to significant oxidative stress or alteration in mitochondrial respiration, suggesting that antioxidant function was adequate in both lung and diaphragm in the experimental condition.