Effect Of 7 Days Of Exercise Training On Interstitial VEGF Protein In Young And Aged Skeletal Muscle

Abstract

In sedentary aged men, skeletal muscle demonstrates lower capillarization and lower VEGF protein content compared to young men. We have recently observed a lower interstitial skeletal muscle VEGF protein response to acute exercise in sedentary aged compared to young men. PURPOSE To determine if 7 days of systemic exercise training improves the interstitial VEGF protein response to acute exercise in aged skeletal muscle. METHODS Subjects performed 65 min of cycle ergometry for 7 days. A microdialysis probe was inserted into the vastus lateralis of young (YM)(25.2 ± 4.9 yrs) and aged (AM)(60.7 ± 1.2 yrs) sedentary men. Dialysate was collected at rest and during acute cycle ergometry exercise pre-and post-training. Interstitial VEGF protein was measured by ELISA. RESULTS Acute exercise increased interstitial VEGF pre-and post-training in both young and aged skeletal muscle. Interstitial VEGF was ∼46%lower in aged compared to young men during acute exercise pre-training (YM=72.0+42.9 pg/ml, AM=38.8+20.8 pg/ml) and ∼51% lower in aged men post-training (YM=65.3+48.3 pg/ml, AM=32.0+7.7). CONCLUSIONS These results suggest that 7 days of exercise training does not improve the interstitial skeletal muscle VEGF response to acute exercise in aged muscle. Supported by NIA (AG-21891 to TP Gavin and AG-18407 to RC Hickner) and AHA Mid-Atlantic (0465415U to TP Gavin)