L-Arginine/nitric oxide regulates skeletal muscle development via muscle fibre-specific nitric oxide/mTOR pathway in chickens

L-Arginine (L-Arg), the precursor of nitric oxide (NO), plays an important role in muscle function. Fasttwitchglycolytic fibres are more susceptible to age-related atrophy than slow-twitch oxidative fibres.The effect of L-Arg/NO on protein metabolism of fast- and slow-twitch muscle fibres was evaluated inchickens. In Exp. 1, 48 chicks at 1 day old were divided into 4 groups of 12 birds and subjected to 4treatments: basal diet without supplementation or supplemented with 1% L-Arg, and water supplementedwith or without L-nitro-arginine methyl ester (L-NAME, 18.5 mM). In Exp. 2, 48 chicks weredivided into 4 groups of 12 birds fed with the basal diet and subjected to the following treatments: tapwater (control), tap water supplemented with L-NAME (18.5 mM), or molsidomine (MS, 0.1 mM), or18.5 mM L-NAME t 0.1 mM MS (NAMS). The regulatory effect of L-Arg/NO was further investigatedin vitro with myoblasts obtained from chicken embryo pectoralis major (PM) and biceps femoris (BF).In vivo, dietary L-Arg supplementation increased breast (t14.94%, P < 0.05) and thigh muscle mass(t23.40%, P < 0.05);whereas, MS treatment had no detectable influence. However, L-NAME treatmentblocked the beneficial influence of L-Arg on muscle development. L-Arg decreased (P < 0.05) proteinsynthesis rate, phosphorylated mTOR and ribosomal protein S6 kinase beta-1 (p70S6K) levels in breastmuscle, which was recovered by L-NAME treatment. In vitro, L-Arg or sodium nitroprusside (SNP)reduced protein synthesis rate, suppressed phosphorylated mTOR/p70S6K and decreased atrogin-1 andmuscle RING finger 1 (MuRF1) in myoblasts from PM muscle (P < 0.05). L-NAME abolished the inhibitoryeffect of L-Arg on protein synthesis and the mTOR/p70S6K pathway. However, myoblasts from BF muscleshowed the weak influence. Moreover, blocking the mTOR/p70S6K pathway with rapamycin suppressedprotein synthesis of the 2 types of myoblasts;whereas, the protein expression of atrogin-1 and MuRF1levels were restricted only in myoblasts from PM muscle. In conclusion, L-Arg/NO/mTOR/p70S6Kpathway enhances protein accumulation and muscle development in fast-twitch glycolytic muscle inchickens. L-Arg/NO regulates protein turnover in a muscle fibre specific way, which highlights the potentialclinical application in fast-twitch glycolytic muscle fibres.

Acoustic Myography in Assessment of Isokinetic and Isometric Muscle Strength in a Healthy Danish Population

Isokinetic and isometric force measurements involving a dynamometer setup are widely used in training and in muscle assessment. For further understanding of the method, we investigated the activation of key functional muscles during isokinetic and isometric movements. During force measurements in an isokinetic Biodex System 3 ProTM, acoustic myography (AMG) was applied. Ten healthy subjects (5 men/5 women) in each decade from 20 to 69 years of age participated in the study. Measurements were carried out during extension and flexion of the ankle, knee and elbow joints. Muscle fibre use was measured by efficiency (E-score) and fibre recruitment (temporal (T-score) and spatial (S-score) summation). AMG measurements showed good reproducibility, and the recruitment pattern of muscle fibres did not change with gender or age. Overall, a significantly higher E-score (P < 0.05) was found at the lower angular velocities than at the higher ones, indicating a lower level of muscle efficiency at higher velocities. Muscles used for knee movement exhibited higher scores than muscles associated with the ankle and elbow joints, most likely related to the greater degree of force production at this joint compared to the ankle and elbow. The ability to activate and inactivate muscle fibres during periods of isokinetic activity becomes increasingly more difficult as the velocity increases. When assessing training effects in sports or rehabilitation, AMG in parallel with isokinetic measurements adds important additional information by giving a measure of possible improvements in efficiency and fibre use.