Left ventricular remodeling with exercise in hypertension.

We investigated how exercise training superimposed on chronic hypertension impacted left ventricular remodeling. Cardiomyocyte hypertrophy, apoptosis, and proliferation in hearts from female spontaneously hypertensive rats (SHRs) were examined. Four-month-old SHR animals were placed into a sedentary group (SHR-SED; n = 18) or a treadmill running group (SHR-TRD, 20 m/min, 1 h/day, 5 days/wk, 12 wk; n = 18). Age-matched, sedentary Wistar Kyoto (WKY) rats were controls (n = 18). Heart weight was greater in SHR-TRD vs. both WKY (P < 0.01) and SHR-SED (P < 0.05). Morphometric-derived left ventricular anterior, posterior, and septal wall thickness were increased in SHR-SED relative to WKY and augmented in SHR-TRD. Cardiomyocyte surface area, length, and width were increased in SHR-SED relative to WKY and further increased in SHR-TRD. Calcineurin abundance was increased in SHR-SED vs. WKY (P < 0.001) and attenuated in SHR-TRD relative to SHR-SED (P < 0.05). Protein abundance and mRNA of Akt was not different among groups. The rate of apoptosis was increased in SHR-SED relative to WKY and mitigated in SHR-TRD. The abundance of Ki-67(+) cells across groups was not statistically different across groups. The abundance of cardiac progenitor cells (c-Kit(+) cells) was increased in SHR-TRD relative to WKY. These data suggest that exercise training superimposed on hypertension augmented cardiomyocyte hypertrophy, despite attenuating calcineurin abundance. Exercise training also mitigated apoptosis in hypertension and showed a tendency to enhance the abundance of cardiac progenitor cells, resulting in a more favorable cardiomyocyte number in the exercise-trained hypertensive heart.

Voluntary wheel running and pacing-induced dysfunction in hypertension.

PURPOSE: We examined how voluntary wheel running in the female, spontaneously hypertensive rat (SHR) impacts myocardial tolerance to pacing stress and determined whether direct adenylyl cyclase agonism via forskolin infusion improved myocardial performance during pacing. METHODS: Twenty-five 16-week-old female Wistar Kyoto (WKY, n = 8) and SHR (n = 17) were utilized. Animals within the SHR group were randomly assigned to a sedentary (SHR-SED, n = 8) or a voluntary wheel running (SHR-WHL, n = 9) group. The SHR-WHL had free access to a running wheel 24 h/day. Resting heart rates and blood pressures were collected immediately prior to sacrifice utilizing a tail cuff apparatus. Left ventricular (LV) function was measured in a Langendorff, isovolumic preparation during pacing stress (8.5 Hz) and during pacing stress + forskolin (5 micromol/L). RESULTS: SHR-WHL showed cardiac enlargement without alterations in heart rate, systolic blood pressure, or rate-pressure product. Pacing stress impaired inotropic and lusitropic performance to a similar extent in all groups (p < 0.05), while forskolin infusion improved LV function to a similar extent in all groups (p < 0.05). CONCLUSIONS: These data suggest that voluntary wheel running in SHR does not protect from pacing-induced myocardial dysfunction, and adenylyl cyclase agonism during pacing stress can functionally protect the heart. These data reiterate the importance of a competent myocardial beta-adrenergic signaling cascade.

Effects of caloric restriction and exercise training on skeletal muscle histochemistry in aging Fischer 344 rats.

The purpose of this study was to determine the effects of calorie restriction and exercise on hindlimb histochemistry and fiber type in Fischer 344 rats as they advanced from adulthood through senescence. At 10 months of age, animals were divided into sedentary fed ad libitum, exercise (18 m/min, 8% grade, 20 min/day, 5 days/week) fed ad libitum, and calorie restricted by alternate days of feeding. Succinic dehydrogenase, myosin adenosine triphosphatase (mATPase at pH 9.4), nicotine adenonine dinucleotide reductase, and Periodic Acid Shiff histochemical stains were performed on plantaris and soleus muscles. The results indicated that aging resulted in a progressive decline in plantaris Type I muscle fiber in sedentary animals, while exercise resulted in maintenance of these fibers. The percent of plantaris Type II fibers increased between 10 and 24 months of age. Exercise also resulted in a small, but significant, increase in the percentage of plantaris Type IIa fibers at 24 months of age. The soleus fiber distribution for Type I fibers was unaffected by increasing age in all groups of animals. The implications of these results suggest the implementation of exercise as a lifestyle modification as early as possible.

Dehydration and symptoms of delayed-onset muscle soreness in normothermic men.

CONTEXT: A dehydrated individual who performs eccentric exercise may exacerbate skeletal muscle damage, leading to structural, contractile, and enzymatic protein denaturation, in addition to the myofiber and connective damage resulting from the eccentric muscle tension. OBJECTIVE: To identify the effects of dehydration on 5 physiologic characteristics of delayed-onset muscle soreness (DOMS) in normothermic men after an eccentric exercise perturbation. DESIGN: Randomized group test-retest design. SETTING: Laboratory. PATIENTS OR OTHER PARTICIPANTS: Ten healthy male volunteers randomly assigned to either a euhydration (age = 26.2 +/- 4.9 years, height = 174.1 +/- 6.0 cm, mass = 86.5 +/- 15.3 kg) or dehydration (age = 25.8 +/- 2.2 years, height = 177.2 +/- 3.1 cm, mass = 84.4 +/- 3.8 kg) group. INTERVENTION(S): Subjects performed treadmill walking for 45 minutes in either a thermoneutral (euhydration) or a hot, humid (dehydration) environment. After a rest period to allow for return to the normothermic condition, DOMS was induced with a 45-minute downhill run. MAIN OUTCOME MEASURES: We assessed 5 physiologic characteristics of DOMS before and at intervals after the eccentric exercise. The characteristics were perceived pain of the bilateral quadriceps and overall body, bilateral punctate tenderness of the superficial quadriceps muscles, bilateral knee-flexion passive range of motion, bilateral thigh circumference, and bilateral isometric quadriceps muscle strength. Thermoregulatory and cardiovascular measures were obtained to monitor participants' heat load during exercise. RESULTS: The experimental protocol produced a 0.9% increase in body mass of the euhydration group and a significant 2.7% decrease in body mass of the dehydration group. The downhill-running exercise perturbation induced DOMS in both the euhydrated and dehydrated participants, based on increased bilateral quadriceps and overall body perceived pain and punctate tenderness of the bilateral vastus medialis muscle. The signs and symptoms of DOMS after an eccentric exercise perturbation were not exacerbated by moderate dehydration of 2.7% body mass after rest and return to the normothermic condition. CONCLUSIONS: Significantly dehydrated participants who rested and returned to a normothermic condition did not experience increased characteristics of DOMS.

Sprint training improves postischemic, left ventricular diastolic performance.

We examined the effects of sprint training on left ventricular diastolic stiffness during normoxia and after ischemia-reperfusion (I/R). Thirty-seven, male Sprague-Dawley rats, weighing 150-175 g at the initiation of the experiment, were randomly assigned to a sedentary, control group (n = 20) or to a high-intensity, sprint-trained group (n = 17). Animals were trained 5 days/wk on a motor-driven treadmill for 6 wk. High-intensity sprint training consisted of running five 1-min sprints at 75 m/min, 15% grade, interspersed with 1-min active recovery runs at a speed of 20 m/min, 15% grade. Langendorff-derived isolated heart performance was measured before and after 20 min of no-flow ischemia followed by 30 min of reperfusion. Isolated myocytes were harvested from a subset of postischemic hearts. Sprint training reduced Langendorff-derived LV chamber stiffness (P < 0.05) and induced a rightward shift in the LV pressure-volume relationship during both normoxic perfusion and after I/R. LV developed pressure after I/R was also better preserved in hearts obtained from sprint-trained animals (P < 0.05), a result that is in part related to a lower postischemic LV chamber stiffness in sprint-trained hearts. The putative impact of sprint training on postischemic LV chamber stiffness was masked by glycolytic inhibition with iodoacetate, suggesting that glycolysis was involved in the better postischemic recovery observed in sprint-trained hearts. There was a tendency for enhanced postischemic cardiomyocyte shortening in sprint-trained cardiomyocytes compared with control. The rate of myocyte relaxation, i.e., time for 50% relaxation of the Ca(2+) transient amplitude, was similar between groups. These data suggest that additional mechanisms unrelated to Ca(2+) were involved in sprint-induced protection from ischemia-reperfusion-induced LV diastolic dysfunction.

Dehydration and symptoms of delayed-onset muscle soreness in hyperthermic males.

CONTEXT: Exercise in the heat produces cellular conditions that may leave skeletal muscle susceptible to exercise-induced microdamage. Delayed-onset muscle soreness (DOMS) is a clinical model of contraction-induced skeletal muscle injury. OBJECTIVE: To determine whether thermoregulation during exercise heat stress adversely affects muscle injury and the accompanying DOMS. DESIGN: Randomized group test-retest design. SETTING: Laboratory. PATIENTS OR OTHER PARTICIPANTS: Ten healthy male volunteers were randomly assigned to either the euhydration/hyperthermic or dehydration/hyperthermic group. INTERVENTION(S): Participants were randomly assigned to treadmill walking in a hot, humid environmental chamber (40 degrees C and 75% relative humidity) with either oral rehydration (euhydration/hyperthermic) or fluid restriction (dehydration/hyperthermic). Immediately after heat exposure and while hyperthermic, participants performed an eccentrically biased downhill run to induce DOMS. MAIN OUTCOME MEASURE(S): We measured DOMS characteristics pre-exercise and at 0.5, 24, 48, 72, and 96 hours postexercise. RESULTS: Treadmill exercise and exposure to the hot ambient environment elicited a 0.9% body mass loss for the euhydrated/ hyperthermic (mean rectal temperature after 60 minutes of heat-stress trial = 38.2 +/- 0.4 degrees C) and 3.3% body mass loss for the dehydrated/hyperthermic participants (mean rectal temperature after 60 minutes of heat-stress trial = 38.1 +/- 0.4 degrees C). Quadriceps perceived pain was significantly higher (F(5,40) = 18.717, P

Differential effects of exercise training on skeletal muscle SERCA gene expression.

INTRODUCTION: Exercise training induces significant changes in the performance of skeletal muscle. PURPOSE: To determine whether changes in the gene expression of rat hind-limb muscle sarcoplasmic reticulum Ca2+ -ATPase isoforms (SERCA1a and SERCA2a) in response to either moderate- or high-intensity exercise training underlie the functional remodeling. METHODS: SERCA1a and SERCA2a isoform mRNA expression was determined in predominantly fast-twitch, gastrocnemius muscle and predominantly slow-twitch, soleus muscle with northern analysis. SERCA mRNA was normalized by the 18S rRNA measured in the same sample. RESULTS: Significant increases in the gastrocnemius SERCA2a mRNA expression were observed after both moderate- and high-intensity training. No significant change in SERCA1a expression was found under any conditions. CONCLUSION: These results indicate that both moderate and high intensity exercise increase the relative SERCA2a expression in the gastrocnemius.

Temporal Pattern of the Repeated Bout Effect of Eccentric Exercise on Delayed-Onset Muscle Soreness.

OBJECTIVE: To determine the temporal pattern of the repeated bout effect of eccentric exercise on perceived pain and muscular tenderness associated with delayed-onset muscle soreness (DOMS). DESIGN AND SETTING: Subjects completed 2 identical eccentric exercise bouts separated by 6, 7, 8, or 9 weeks. The experiment was conducted in a biokinetics research laboratory. SUBJECTS: Sixteen male and 15 female untrained subjects (age = 24.59 +/- 4.42 years, height = 171.71 +/- 7.81 cm, weight = 73.00 +/- 11.20 kg). MEASUREMENTS: Two physiologic characteristics of DOMS were measured immediately before and 0, 24, 48, and 72 hours after each eccentric exercise bout. Perceived pain was measured using a visual analog scale (VAS), and muscular tenderness was measured using a punctate tenderness gauge (PTG). RESULTS: Two 4 x 2 x 5 (group x bout x time) analyses of variance with repeated measures on the bout and time factors were performed on the VAS and PTG data. Significant (P <.05) main effects were found for group, bout, and time for the VAS and the PTG data. No significant interactions were detected. Post hoc analysis revealed significantly less perceived pain for the 9-week group than the 8-week group. The 7-week group had significantly less and the 8-week group had significantly more muscular tenderness than any other group. Perceived pain and muscular tenderness were significantly less after exercise bout 2 than after exercise bout 1. All subjects had significantly less perceived pain and muscular tenderness pre-exercise than 0 and 24 hours after the eccentric exercise bouts. CONCLUSIONS: An effective prophylaxis for perceived pain and muscular tenderness associated with DOMS is the performance of an eccentric exercise bout 6 to 9 weeks before a similar exercise bout.