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Aging skeletal muscle shows an increased time to peak force and relaxation and a decreased specific force, all of which could relate to changes in muscle [Ca.sup.2+] handling. The purpose of this study was to determine if [Ca.sup.2+]-handling protein content and function are decreased in senescent gastrocnemius muscle and if initiating a training program in late middle age (LMA, 29 mo old) could improve function in senescent (34-to 36-mo-old) muscle. LMA male Fischer 344 x Brown-Norway rats underwent 5-7 mo of treadmill training. Aging resulted in a decrease in maximal sarco(endo)plasmic reticulum [Ca.sup.2+]-ATPase (SERCA) activity and a decrease in [Ca.sup.2+] release rate but no change in [Ca.sup.2+] uptake rate. Efficiency of the [Ca.sup.2+] pump was increased with age, as was the content of SERCA2a. Training caused a further increase in SERCA2a content. Aging also caused an increase in protein carbonyl and reactive nitrogen species damage accumulation, and both further increased with training. Consistent with the increase in oxidative damage, heat shock protein 70 content was increased with age and further increased with training. Together, these results suggest that while initiating exercise training in LMA augments the age-related increase in expression of heat shock protein 70 and the more efficient SERCA2a isoform, it did not prevent the decrease in SERCA activity and exacerbated oxidative damage in senescent gastrocnemius muscle. aging; sarcoplasmic reticulum; nitrotyrosine; carbonylation; endurance training doi: 10.1152/ajpregu.00663.2009.

We previously showed that 7 wk of treadmill exercise training in late-middle-aged rats can reverse the modest reductions in skeletal muscle aerobic function and enzyme activity relative to values in young adult rats (Exp Physiol 93: 863-871, 2008). The purpose of the present study was to determine whether extending this training program into senescence would attenuate the accelerated decline in the muscle aerobic machinery normally seen at this advanced age. For this purpose, 29-mo-old Fisher 344 Brown-Norway rats underwent 5 or 7 mo of treadmill exercise training. Training resulted in greater exercise capacity during an incremental treadmill exercise test and reduced percent body fat in 34- and 36-mo-old rats and improved survival. Despite these benefits at the whole body level, in situ muscle aerobic capacity and muscle mass were not greater in the trained groups at 34 mo or 36 mo of age. Similarly, the trained groups did not have higher activities of citrate synthase (CS) or Complex IV in homogenates of either the plantaris (fast twitch) or the soleus (slow twitch) muscles at either age. Finally, protein expression of CS (a marker of mitochondrial content) and peroxisome proliferator-activated receptor-[gamma] coactivator-1 (relating to the drive on mitochondrial biogenesis) were not higher in the trained groups. Therefore, although treadmill training from late middle age into senescence had significant benefits on running capacity, survival, and body fat, it did not prevent the declines in muscle mass, muscle aerobic capacity, or mitochondrial enzyme activities normally seen across this age, revealing a markedly diminished plasticity of the aerobic machinery in response to endurance exercise at advanced age. aging; oxygen uptake; sarcopenia; mitochondria; endurance training

We investigated if calorie restriction (CR) preserved skeletal muscle oxidative capacity with aging after accounting for life span extension by CR, and determined if mitochondrial content, mitochondrial DNA integrity, and peroxisome proliferator-activated receptor gamma coactivator-1[alpha] (PGC-1[alpha]) were involved. Ad libitum-fed (AL) and CR animals representing young adult, late middle age, and senescence were studied. Whereas citrate synthase and complex IV activities were lower in plantaris and gastrocnemius muscle of young adult CR animals, in contrast to the 15%-40% decline in senescent AL animals, there was no decline with aging in CR animals. There was no decline in citrate synthase protein in gastrocnemius with aging in either group, suggesting that CR preserves oxidative capacity with aging by protecting mitochondrial function rather than content. This protection was independent of mitochondrial DNA damage between groups. However, there was a slower decline in PGC-1[alpha] gene expression with aging in CR versus AL animals, suggesting a better maintenance of mitochondrial biogenesis with aging in CR animals.

Different magnitudes and durations of postocchision reactive hyperemia were achieved by occluding different volumes of tissue with and without ischemic exercise to test the hypotheses that flow-mediated dilation (FMD) of the brachial artery would depend on the increase in peak flow rate or shear stress and that the position of the occlusion cuff would affect the response. The brachial artery FMD response was observed by high-frequency ultrasound imaging with curve fitting to minimize the effects of random measurement error in eight healthy, young, nonsmoking men. Reactive hyperemia was graded by 5-min occlusion distal to the measurement site at the wrist and the forearm and proximal to the site in the upper arm. Flow was further increased by exercise during occlusion at the wrist and forearm positions. For the two wrist occlusion conditions, flow increased eightfold and FMD was only 1 to 2% (P > 0.05). After the forearm and upper arm occlusions, blood flow was almost identical hut FMD after forearm occlusions was 3.4% (P < 0.05), whereas it was significantly greater (6.6%, P < 0.05) and more prolonged after proximal occlusion. Forearm occlusion plus exercise caused a greater and more prolonged increase in blood flow, yet FMD (7.0%) was qualitatively and quantitatively similar to that after proximal occlusion. Overall, the magnitude of FMD was significantly correlated with peak forearm blood flow (r = 0.59, P < 0.001), peak shear rate (r = 0.49, P < 0.002), and total 5-min reactive hyperemia (r = 0.52, P < 0.001). The prolonged FMD after upper arm occlusion suggests that the mechanism for FMD differs with occlusion cuff position. hyperemia; endothelium; shear stress; ischemic exercise; blood flow

Key points: Exercise, insulin‐infusion and low‐glucose mixed‐nutrient meal ingestion increases muscle microvascular blood flow which in part facilitates glucose delivery and disposal. In contrast, high‐glucose ingestion impairs muscle microvascular blood flow which may contribute to impaired postprandial metabolism.We investigated the effects of prior cycling exercise on postprandial muscle microvascular blood flow responses to a high‐glucose mixed‐nutrient meal ingested 3 and 24 h post‐exercise.Prior exercise enhanced muscle microvascular blood flow and mitigated microvascular impairments induced by a high‐glucose mixed meal ingested 3 h post‐exercise, and to a lesser extent 24 h post‐exercise.High‐glucose ingestion 3 h post‐exercise leads to greater postprandial blood glucose, non‐esterified fatty acids, and fat oxidation, and a delay in the insulin response to the meal compared to control.Effects of acute exercise on muscle microvascular blood flow persist well after the cessation of exercise which may be beneficial for conditions characterized by microvascular and glycaemic dysfunction. Exercise, insulin‐infusion and low‐glucose mixed‐nutrient meal ingestion lead to increased muscle microvascular blood flow (MBF), whereas high‐glucose ingestion impairs MBF. We investigated whether prior cycling exercise could enhance postprandial muscle MBF and prevent MBF impairments induced by high‐glucose mixed‐nutrient meal ingestion. In a randomized cross‐over design, eight healthy young men ingested a high‐glucose mixed‐nutrient meal (1.1 g glucose/kg body weight; 45% carbohydrate, 20% protein and 35% fat) after an overnight fast (no‐exercise control) and 3 h and 24 h after moderate‐intensity cycling exercise (1 h at 70–75% V̇O2peak). Skeletal muscle MBF, measured directly by contrast‐enhanced ultrasound, was lower at 60 min and 120 min postprandially compared to baseline in all conditions (P < 0.05), with a greater decrease occurring from 60 min to 120 min in the control (no‐exercise) condition only (P < 0.001). Despite this meal‐induced decrease, MBF was still markedly higher compared to control in the 3 h post‐exercise condition at 0 min (pre‐meal; 74%, P = 0.004), 60 min (112%, P = 0.002) and 120 min (223%, P < 0.001), and in the 24 h post‐exercise condition at 120 min postprandially (132%, P < 0.001). We also report that in the 3 h post‐exercise condition postprandial blood glucose, non‐esterified fatty acids (NEFAs), and fat oxidation were substantially elevated, and the insulin response to the meal delayed compared to control. This probably reflects a combination of increased post‐exercise exogenous glucose appearance, substrate competition, and NEFA‐induced insulin resistance. We conclude that prior cycling exercise elicits long‐lasting effects on muscle MBF and partially mitigates MBF impairments induced by high‐glucose mixed‐nutrient meal ingestion. Key points: Exercise, insulin‐infusion and low‐glucose mixed‐nutrient meal ingestion increases muscle microvascular blood flow which in part facilitates glucose delivery and disposal. In contrast, high‐glucose ingestion impairs muscle microvascular blood flow which may contribute to impaired postprandial metabolism.We investigated the effects of prior cycling exercise on postprandial muscle microvascular blood flow responses to a high‐glucose mixed‐nutrient meal ingested 3 and 24 h post‐exercise.Prior exercise enhanced muscle microvascular blood flow and mitigated microvascular impairments induced by a high‐glucose mixed meal ingested 3 h post‐exercise, and to a lesser extent 24 h post‐exercise.High‐glucose ingestion 3 h post‐exercise leads to greater postprandial blood glucose, non‐esterified fatty acids, and fat oxidation, and a delay in the insulin response to the meal compared to control.Effects of acute exercise on muscle microvascular blood flow persist well after the cessation of exercise which may be beneficial for conditions characterized by microvascular and glycaemic dysfunction. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

We investigated the effects of testosterone suppression, hindlimb immobilization, and recovery on skeletal muscle Na+,K+-ATPase (NKA), measured via [3H]ouabain binding site content (OB) and NKA isoform abundances (α1-3, &#946L1-2). Male rats underwent castration or sham surgery plus 7 days of rest, 10 days of unilateral immobilization (cast), and 14 days of recovery, with soleus muscles obtained at each time from cast and noncast legs. Testosterone reduction did not modify OB or NKA isoforms in nonimmobilized control muscles. With sham surgery, OB was lower after immobilization in the cast leg than in both the noncast leg (26%, P = 0.023) and the nonimmobilized control (34%, P = 0.001), but OB subsequently recovered. With castration, OB was lower after immobilization in the cast leg than in the nonimmobilized control (34%, P = 0.001), and remained depressed at recovery (34%, P = 0.001). NKA isoforms did not differ after immobilization or recovery in the sham group. After castration, α2 in the cast leg was ~60% lower than in the noncast leg (P = 0.004) and nonimmobilized control (P - 0.004) and after recovery remained lower than the nonimmobilized control (-42%, P = 0.039). After immobilization, α1 was lower in the cast than the noncast leg (26%, P = 0.018), with β2 lower in the cast leg than in the noncast leg (71%, P = 0.004) and nonimmobilized control (65%, P = 0.012). No differences existed for α1 or α3. Thus, both OB and α2 decreased after immobilization and recovery in the castration group, with α2, β1, and β2 isoform abundances decreased with immobilization compared with the sham group. Therefore, testosterone suppression in rats impaired restoration of immobilization-induced lowered number of functional NKA and α2 isoforms in soleus muscle. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This study was designed to examine the biomechanical and physiological responses between cycling on the Axiom stationary ergometer (Axiom, Elite, Fontaniva, Italy) vs. field conditions for both uphill and level ground cycling. Nine cyclists performed cycling bouts in the laboratory on an Axiom stationary ergometer and on their personal road bikes in actual road cycling conditions in the field with three pedaling cadences during uphill and level cycling. Gross efficiency and cycling economy were lower (-10%) for the Axiom stationary ergometer compared with the field. The preferred pedaling cadence was higher for the Axiom stationary ergometer conditions compared with the field conditions only for uphill cycling. Our data suggests that simulated cycling using the Axiom stationary ergometer differs from actual cycling in the field. These results should be taken into account notably for improving the precision of the model of cycling performance, and when it is necessary to compare two cycling test conditions (field/laboratory, using different ergometers). [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]