Abstract
Regular physical exercise has health benefits and can prevent some of the ageing-associated muscle deteriorations. However, the biochemical mechanisms underlying this exercise benefit, especially in human tissues, are not well known. To investigate, we assessed this using miRNA profiling, mRNA and protein levels of anti-oxidant and metabolic proteins in the vastus lateralis muscle of master athletes aged over 65 years and age-matched controls. Master athletes had lower levels of miR-7, while mRNA or protein levels of SIRT3, SIRT1, SOD2, and FOXO1 levels were significantly higher in the vastus lateralis muscle of master athletes compared to muscles of age-matched controls. These results suggest that regular exercise results in better cellular metabolism and antioxidant capacity via maintaining physiological state of mitochondria and efficient ATP production and decreasing ageing-related inflammation as indicated by the lower level of miR-7 in master athletes.
Highlights
Skeletal muscle is the most abundant tissue in human body, accounting for about 60% of the total protein content and 40% of body mass
SIRT1 (p < 0.01) and FOXO1 (p < 0.05) mRNA levels were higher in master athletes than in control groups (Fig. 3), while the SIRT3 and SOD2 proteins (p < 0.01; Fig. 4) from the muscle samples of master athletes were higher than that in the control subjects
Aging is associated with an increased level of miR-7 and has been shown to play a crucial role in ageing-associated loss of transforming growth factor-beta 1 dependent fibroblast to myofibroblast differentiation, and poorer wound healing [29]
Summary
Skeletal muscle is the most abundant tissue in human body, accounting for about 60% of the total protein content and 40% of body mass. It is important for locomotion and maintenance of body posture, and has an important metabolic function such as storage of carbohydrates in the form of glycogen. Regular exercise has been shown to be associated with larger muscle cross sectional area [3], fiber number [4,5], strength [6], endurance capacity [7], mitochondrial function [8], insulin sensitivity [9], among others
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