Effects and mechanisms of calorie restriction on the contractile function of skeletal muscle from rats

Abstract

Objective To investigate the effects of calorie restriction (CR) for 4 weeks on twitch tension,titanic tension,and fatigue contraction induced by electrical stimulation in different kind skeletal muscles from rats and explore the possible mechanisms.Methods The rat model of CR was established by a limitation of 40％ calorie intake of control rats for 4 weeks,and then oral glucose tolerance test (OGTT) was performed.The soleus (SOL) and extensor digitorum longus (EDL) were isolated under anesthetization to detect twitch tension,titanic tension,and fatigue contraction induced by electrical stimulation.Adenosine triphosphate (ATP) content was measured by fluorescent enzymatic methods to reflect mitochondrial function.The ratio of mitochondrial gene COX Ⅰ and nuclear gene β-actin copy number was analyzed to evaluate mitochondrial biogenesis.Furthermore,the transcriptions of peroxisome proliferatoractivated receptor γ coactivator-1 (PGC-1α) and nuclear respiratory factor 1 (NRF1) genes,expressions of phosphorylated adenosine 5'-monophosphate-activated protein kinase (AMPK) and nitric oxide synthase (NOS) proteins,and nitric oxide (NO) content were determined in skeletal muscle.Results The blood glucose level at 30 min and area under the curve of blood glucose levels at various time points during OGTT were significantly decreased in the CR group compared to the control group.The twitch tension [(2.5 ± 0.15)N/cm2 vs (1.24±0.12)N/cm2,(2.66 ±0.21)N/cm2 vs (1.69 ±0.17)N/cm2,P ＜ 0.05],titanic tension [(10.43 ± 0.36) N/cm2 vs (8.06 ± 0.19) N/cm2,(11.35 ± 1.02) N/cm2 vs (8.12 ± 0.23) N/cm2,P ＜ 0.05],and fatigue contraction force in SOL and EDL from CR rats were significantly increased in association with increases of ATP content [(34.82 ±4.31)) mnol/mg protein vs (15.32 ± 1.94) nmol/mg protein,(30.82 ± 2.15) nmol/mg protein vs (12.32 ± 0.97) nmol/mg protein,P ＜ 0.05] and mitochondrial biogenesis (2.75 ± 0.20 vs 1.52 ± 0.06,1.32 ± 0.10 vs 0.84 ± 0.11,P ＜ 0.05) compared to control rats.CR for 4 weeks upregulated the transcriptions of PGC-1α and NRF genes as well as the phosphorylation of AMPK protein in SOL but not in EDL.Furthermore,CR also enhanced NOS expression and NO content in both skeletal muscles.Conclusions CR for 4 weeks can strengthen the contractile function of SOL and DL from rats,and the underlying mechanisms might be related to the upregulation of PGC-1α transcription and AMPK activation,resulting in the enhances of mitochondrial biogenesis and mitochondrial function in skeletal muscles. Key words: Eating; Muscle contraction ; Muscle, skeletal/metabolism; Mitochondria, muscle/metabolism; Rats, Sprague-Dawley