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Van Vossel K, Hardeel J, Van der Stede T, Weyns A, Boone J, Blemker SS, Derave W, Lievens E. Influence of intramuscular steroid receptor content and fiber capillarization on skeletal muscle hypertrophy. Scand J Med Sci Sports 2024; 34:e14668. [PMID: 38802727 DOI: 10.1111/sms.14668] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 01/03/2024] [Revised: 05/04/2024] [Accepted: 05/06/2024] [Indexed: 05/29/2024]
Abstract
Multiple intramuscular variables have been proposed to explain the high variability in resistance training induced muscle hypertrophy across humans. This study investigated if muscular androgen receptor (AR), estrogen receptor α (ERα) and β (ERβ) content and fiber capillarization are associated with fiber and whole-muscle hypertrophy after chronic resistance training. Male (n = 11) and female (n = 10) resistance training novices (22.1 ± 2.2 years) trained their knee extensors 3×/week for 10 weeks. Vastus lateralis biopsies were taken at baseline and post the training period to determine changes in fiber type specific cross-sectional area (CSA) and fiber capillarization by immunohistochemistry and, intramuscular AR, ERα and ERβ content by Western blotting. Vastus lateralis volume was quantified by MRI-based 3D segmentation. Vastus lateralis muscle volume significantly increased over the training period (+7.22%; range: -1.82 to +18.8%, p < 0.0001) but no changes occurred in all fiber (+1.64%; range: -21 to +34%, p = 0.869), type I fiber (+1.33%; range: -24 to +41%, p = 0.952) and type II fiber CSA (+2.19%; range: -23 to +29%, p = 0.838). However, wide inter-individual ranges were found. Resistance training increased the protein expression of ERα but not ERβ and AR, and the increase in ERα content was positively related to changes in fiber CSA. Only for the type II fibers, the baseline capillary-to-fiber-perimeter index was positively related to type II fiber hypertrophy but not to whole muscle responsiveness. In conclusion, an upregulation of ERα content and an adequate initial fiber capillarization may be contributing factors implicated in muscle fiber hypertrophy responsiveness after chronic resistance training.
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Affiliation(s)
- Kim Van Vossel
- Department of Movement and Sports Sciences, Ghent University, Ghent, Belgium
| | - Julie Hardeel
- Department of Movement and Sports Sciences, Ghent University, Ghent, Belgium
| | - Thibaux Van der Stede
- Department of Movement and Sports Sciences, Ghent University, Ghent, Belgium
- Department of Nutrition, Exercise and Sports, University of Copenhagen, Copenhagen, Denmark
| | - Anneleen Weyns
- Department of Movement and Sports Sciences, Ghent University, Ghent, Belgium
| | - Jan Boone
- Department of Movement and Sports Sciences, Ghent University, Ghent, Belgium
| | - Silvia Salinas Blemker
- Department of Biomedical Engineering, University of Virginia, Charlottesville, VA, USA
- Springbok Analytics, Charlottesville, VA, USA
| | - Wim Derave
- Department of Movement and Sports Sciences, Ghent University, Ghent, Belgium
| | - Eline Lievens
- Department of Movement and Sports Sciences, Ghent University, Ghent, Belgium
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Swinnen W, Lievens E, Hoogkamer W, De Groote F, Derave W, Vanwanseele B. Muscle fibre typology affects whole-body metabolic rate during isolated muscle contractions and human locomotion. J Physiol 2024; 602:1297-1311. [PMID: 38493355 DOI: 10.1113/jp285846] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 10/30/2023] [Accepted: 02/26/2024] [Indexed: 03/18/2024] Open
Abstract
The wide variation in muscle fibre type distribution across individuals, along with the very different energy consumption rates in slow versus fast muscle fibres, suggests that muscle fibre typology contributes to inter-individual differences in metabolic rate during exercise. However, this has been hard to demonstrate due to the gap between a single muscle fibre and full-body exercises. We investigated the isolated effect of triceps surae muscle contraction velocity on whole-body metabolic rate during cyclic contractions in individuals a priori selected for their predominantly slow (n = 11) or fast (n = 10) muscle fibre typology by means of proton magnetic resonance spectroscopy (1H-MRS). Subsequently, we examined their whole-body metabolic rate during walking and running at 2 m/s, exercises with comparable metabolic rates but distinct triceps surae muscle force and velocity demands (walking: low force, high velocity; running: high force, low velocity). Increasing triceps surae contraction velocity during cyclic contractions elevated net whole-body metabolic rate for both typology groups. However, the slow group consumed substantially less net metabolic energy at the slowest contraction velocity, but the metabolic difference between groups diminished at faster velocities. Consistent with the more economic force production during slow contractions, the slow group exhibited lower metabolic rates than the fast group while running, whereas metabolic rates were similar during walking. These findings provide important insights into the influence of muscle fibre typology on whole-body metabolic rate and emphasize the importance of considering muscle mechanical demands to understand muscle fibre typology related differences in whole-body metabolic rates. KEY POINTS: Muscle fibre typology is often suggested to affect whole-body metabolic rate, yet convincing in vivo evidence is lacking. Using isolated plantar flexor muscle contractions in individuals a priori selected for their predominantly slow or fast muscle fibre typology, we demonstrated that having predominantly slow muscle fibres provides a metabolic advantage during slow muscle contractions, but this benefit disappeared at faster contractions. We extended these results to full-body exercises, where we demonstrated that higher proportions of slow fibres associated with better economy during running but not when walking. These findings provide important insights into the influence of muscle fibre typology on whole-body metabolic rate and emphasize the importance of considering muscle mechanical demands to understand muscle fibre typology related differences in whole-body metabolic rate.
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Affiliation(s)
- Wannes Swinnen
- Department of Movement Sciences, KU Leuven, Leuven, Belgium
- Department of Movement and Sports Sciences, Ghent University, Ghent, Belgium
| | - Eline Lievens
- Department of Movement and Sports Sciences, Ghent University, Ghent, Belgium
| | - Wouter Hoogkamer
- Department of Kinesiology, University of Massachusetts Amherst, Amherst, MA, USA
| | | | - Wim Derave
- Department of Movement and Sports Sciences, Ghent University, Ghent, Belgium
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Hirono T, Takeda R, Nishikawa T, Watanabe K. Prediction of 1-year change in knee extension strength by neuromuscular properties in older adults. GeroScience 2024; 46:2561-2569. [PMID: 38093024 PMCID: PMC10828468 DOI: 10.1007/s11357-023-01035-6] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 10/23/2023] [Accepted: 12/04/2023] [Indexed: 02/01/2024] Open
Abstract
Improving muscle strength and preventing muscle weakness are important for older adults. The change in strength can be effectively explained by skeletal muscle mass and neural factors. Neural factors are important for older adults because the variation of neural components is greater in older than in young adults, and any decline in strength cannot solely be explained by a decrease in skeletal muscle mass. The purpose of the present study was to investigate whether skeletal muscle mass or motor unit firing properties could explain the change in muscle strength after 1 year. Thirty-eight older adults (75.0 ± 4.7 years, 156.6 ± 7.7 cm, 55.5 ± 9.4 kg, 26 women) performed maximum voluntary knee extension and their skeletal muscle mass was measured using a bioimpedance device. During a submaximal contraction task, high-density surface electromyography was recorded and the signals were decomposed into individual motor unit firing. As an index of motor unit firing properties, the slope and y-intercept (MU intercept) were calculated from the regression line between recruitment thresholds and firing rates in each participant. After 1 year, their maximum knee extension torque was evaluated again. A stepwise multiple regression linear model with sex and age as covariates indicated that MU intercept was a significant explanation with a negative association for the 1-year change in muscle strength (β = - 0.493, p = 0.004), but not skeletal muscle mass (p = 0.364). The results suggest that neural components might be predictors of increasing and decreasing muscle strength rather than skeletal muscle mass.
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Affiliation(s)
- Tetsuya Hirono
- Laboratory of Neuromuscular Biomechanics, School of Health and Sport Sciences, Chukyo University, 101 Tokodachi, Kaizu-Cho, Toyota, Aichi, Japan.
- Human Health Sciences, Graduate School of Medicine, Kyoto University, 53 Kawahara-Cho, Shogoin, Sakyo-Ku, Kyoto, Japan.
| | - Ryosuke Takeda
- Laboratory of Neuromuscular Biomechanics, School of Health and Sport Sciences, Chukyo University, 101 Tokodachi, Kaizu-Cho, Toyota, Aichi, Japan
| | - Taichi Nishikawa
- Laboratory of Neuromuscular Biomechanics, School of Health and Sport Sciences, Chukyo University, 101 Tokodachi, Kaizu-Cho, Toyota, Aichi, Japan
- Graduate School of Health and Sport Sciences, Chukyo University, 101 Tokodachi, Kaizu-Cho, Toyota, Aichi, Japan
| | - Kohei Watanabe
- Laboratory of Neuromuscular Biomechanics, School of Health and Sport Sciences, Chukyo University, 101 Tokodachi, Kaizu-Cho, Toyota, Aichi, Japan
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Lievens E, Van Vossel K, Van de Casteele F, Derave W, Murdoch JB. The effects of residual dipolar coupling on carnosine in proton muscle spectra. NMR IN BIOMEDICINE 2024; 37:e5083. [PMID: 38217329 DOI: 10.1002/nbm.5083] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 05/25/2023] [Revised: 10/23/2023] [Accepted: 11/08/2023] [Indexed: 01/15/2024]
Abstract
Carnosine, an MR-visible dipeptide in human muscle, is well characterized by two peaks at ~8 and ~7 ppm from C2 and C4 imidazole protons. Like creatine and other metabolites, carnosine is subject to residual dipolar coupling in the anisotropic environment of muscle fibers, but the effects have not been studied extensively. Single-voxel TE 30-32 PRESS spectra from three different 3T studies were acquired from gastrocnemius medialis and soleus muscles in the human lower leg. In these studies, carnosine T2 values were measured, and spectra were obtained at three different foot angles. LCModel was used to fit the carnosine peaks with a basis set that was generated using shaped RF pulses and included a range of dipolar couplings affecting the C4 peak. A seven-parameter analytic expression was used to fit the CH2 doublets of creatine. It incorporated an optimized "effective TE" value to model the effect of shaped RF pulses. The fits confirm that the triplet C4 peak of carnosine is dipolar coupled to a pair of CH2 protons, with no need to include a contribution from a separate pool of freely rotating uncoupled carnosine. Moreover, the couplings experienced by carnosine C4 protons and creatine CH2 protons are strongly correlated (R2 = 0.88, P<0.001), exhibiting a similar 3cos2 θ - 1 dependence on the angle θ between fiber orientation and B0. T2 values for the singlet C2 peak of gastrocnemius carnosine are inversely proportional to the C4 dipolar coupling strength (R2 = 0.97, P < 0.001), which in turn is a function of foot orientation. This dependence indicates that careful positioning of the foot while acquiring lower leg muscle spectra is important to obtain reproducible carnosine concentrations. As proton magnetic resonance spectroscopy of carnosine is currently used to non-invasively estimate the muscle fiber typology, these results have important implications in sport science.
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Affiliation(s)
- Eline Lievens
- Department of Movement and Sports Sciences, Ghent University, Ghent, Belgium
| | - Kim Van Vossel
- Department of Movement and Sports Sciences, Ghent University, Ghent, Belgium
| | | | - Wim Derave
- Department of Movement and Sports Sciences, Ghent University, Ghent, Belgium
| | - James B Murdoch
- Department of Movement and Sports Sciences, Ghent University, Ghent, Belgium
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Tejedera-Villafranca A, Montolio M, Ramón-Azcón J, Fernández-Costa JM. Mimicking sarcolemmal damage in vitro: a contractile 3D model of skeletal muscle for drug testing in Duchenne muscular dystrophy. Biofabrication 2023; 15:045024. [PMID: 37725998 DOI: 10.1088/1758-5090/acfb3d] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 06/22/2023] [Accepted: 09/19/2023] [Indexed: 09/21/2023]
Abstract
Duchenne muscular dystrophy (DMD) is the most prevalent neuromuscular disease diagnosed in childhood. It is a progressive and wasting disease, characterized by a degeneration of skeletal and cardiac muscles caused by the lack of dystrophin protein. The absence of this crucial structural protein leads to sarcolemmal fragility, resulting in muscle fiber damage during contraction. Despite ongoing efforts, there is no cure available for DMD patients. One of the primary challenges is the limited efficacy of current preclinical tools, which fail in modeling the biological complexity of the disease. Human-based three-dimensional (3D) cell culture methods appear as a novel approach to accelerate preclinical research by enhancing the reproduction of pathophysiological processes in skeletal muscle. In this work, we developed a patient-derived functional 3D skeletal muscle model of DMD that reproduces the sarcolemmal damage found in the native DMD muscle. These bioengineered skeletal muscle tissues exhibit contractile functionality, as they responded to electrical pulse stimulation. Sustained contractile regimes induced the loss of myotube integrity, mirroring the pathological myotube breakdown inherent in DMD due to sarcolemmal instability. Moreover, damaged DMD tissues showed disease functional phenotypes, such as tetanic fatigue. We also evaluated the therapeutic effect of utrophin upregulator drug candidates on the functionality of the skeletal muscle tissues, thus providing deeper insight into the real impact of these treatments. Overall, our findings underscore the potential of bioengineered 3D skeletal muscle technology to advance DMD research and facilitate the development of novel therapies for DMD and related neuromuscular disorders.
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Affiliation(s)
- Ainoa Tejedera-Villafranca
- Institute for Bioengineering of Catalonia (IBEC), The Barcelona Institute of Science and Technology (BIST), C/Baldiri Reixac 10-12, E08028 Barcelona, Spain
| | - Marisol Montolio
- Duchenne Parent Project España, E28032 Madrid, Spain
- Department of Cell Biology, Physiology and Immunology, Faculty of Biology, University of Barcelona, E08027 Barcelona, Spain
| | - Javier Ramón-Azcón
- Institute for Bioengineering of Catalonia (IBEC), The Barcelona Institute of Science and Technology (BIST), C/Baldiri Reixac 10-12, E08028 Barcelona, Spain
- Institució Catalana de Reserca i Estudis Avançats (ICREA), Passeig de Lluís Companys, 23, E08010 Barcelona, Spain
| | - Juan M Fernández-Costa
- Institute for Bioengineering of Catalonia (IBEC), The Barcelona Institute of Science and Technology (BIST), C/Baldiri Reixac 10-12, E08028 Barcelona, Spain
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Nunes JP. Can lizards become alligators? Muscle fibre type and other factors that may influence (or not) hypertrophy responsiveness after resistance training. J Physiol 2023; 601:3447-3448. [PMID: 37300474 DOI: 10.1113/jp284867] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 06/12/2023] Open
Affiliation(s)
- João Pedro Nunes
- Metabolism, Nutrition, and Exercise Laboratory, Physical Education and Sport Center, Londrina State University, Londrina, Brazil
- School of Medical and Health Sciences, Edith Cowan University, Joondalup, Australia
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Bell ZW, Wong V, Spitz RW, Yamada Y, Song JS, Kataoka R, Chatakondi RN, Abe T, Loenneke JP. Unilateral high-load resistance training influences strength changes in the contralateral arm undergoing low-load training. J Sci Med Sport 2023; 26:440-445. [PMID: 37423835 DOI: 10.1016/j.jsams.2023.06.011] [Citation(s) in RCA: 1] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 03/06/2023] [Revised: 05/17/2023] [Accepted: 06/20/2023] [Indexed: 07/11/2023]
Abstract
OBJECTIVES Within-subject training models have become common within the exercise literature. However, it is currently unknown if training one arm with a high load would impact muscle size and strength of the opposing arm training with a low load. DESIGN Parallel group. METHODS 116 participants were randomized to one of three groups that completed 6-weeks (18 sessions) of elbow flexion exercise. Group 1 trained their dominant arm only, beginning with a one-repetition maximum test (≤5 attempts), followed by four sets of exercise using a weight equivalent to 8-12 repetition maximum. Group 2 completed the same training as Group 1 in their dominant arm, while the non-dominant arm completed four sets of low-load exercise (30-40 repetition maximum). Group 3 trained their non-dominant arm only, performing the same low-load exercise as Group 2. Participants were compared for changes in muscle thickness and elbow flexion one-repetition maximum. RESULTS The greatest changes in non-dominant strength were present in Groups 1 (Δ 1.5 kg; untrained arm) and 2 (Δ1.1 kg; low-load arm with high load on opposite arm), compared to Group 3 (Δ 0.3 kg; low-load only). Only the arms being directly trained observed changes in muscle thickness (≈Δ 0.25 cm depending on site). CONCLUSIONS Within-subject training models are potentially problematic when investigating changes in strength (though not muscle growth). This is based on the finding that the untrained limb of Group 1 saw similar changes in strength as the non-dominant limb of Group 2 which were both greater than the low-load training limb of Group 3.
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Affiliation(s)
- Zachary W Bell
- Department of Kinesiology and Physical Education, McGill University, Canada
| | - Vickie Wong
- Kevser Ermin Applied Physiology Laboratory, Department of Health, Exercise, Science, and Recreation Management, The University of Mississippi, USA
| | - Robert W Spitz
- Kevser Ermin Applied Physiology Laboratory, Department of Health, Exercise, Science, and Recreation Management, The University of Mississippi, USA
| | - Yujiro Yamada
- Kevser Ermin Applied Physiology Laboratory, Department of Health, Exercise, Science, and Recreation Management, The University of Mississippi, USA
| | - Jun Seob Song
- Kevser Ermin Applied Physiology Laboratory, Department of Health, Exercise, Science, and Recreation Management, The University of Mississippi, USA
| | - Ryo Kataoka
- Kevser Ermin Applied Physiology Laboratory, Department of Health, Exercise, Science, and Recreation Management, The University of Mississippi, USA
| | - Raksha N Chatakondi
- Kevser Ermin Applied Physiology Laboratory, Department of Health, Exercise, Science, and Recreation Management, The University of Mississippi, USA
| | - Takashi Abe
- Graduate School of Health and Sports Science & Institute of Health and Sports Science and Medicine, Juntendo University, Japan
| | - Jeremy P Loenneke
- Kevser Ermin Applied Physiology Laboratory, Department of Health, Exercise, Science, and Recreation Management, The University of Mississippi, USA.
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