Microvascular Function in Skeletal Muscle of Adiponectin Knockout Mice

Abstract

Adiponectin is known to be an important regulator of both metabolic and vascular function in skeletal muscle; however, a direct role for adiponectin in exercise training‐induced microvascular adaptation of skeletal muscle has not been documented. We assessed oxidative metabolism, capillarity, and endothelium‐dependent vasodilation in soleus and gastrocnemius muscles of sedentary and exercise trained, wild type (WT) and adiponectin knockout (AdipoKO) mice. WT and AdipoKO mice were obtained at 10‐12 wks of age and underwent treadmill exercise training (1 hr/day, 5 days/wk for 8 wks) or remained sedentary in cages. In sedentary mice, citrate synthase activity and capillarity were increased in soleus muscle of AdiopKO mice as compared to WT mice. In soleus muscle feed arteries from sedentary mice, endothelium‐dependent vasodilation to acetylcholine was reduced in AdipoKO mice as compared to WT mice. Exercise training increased capillarity and citrate synthase activity in soleus muscle of WT mice, but not AdipoKO mice. Exercise training did not alter endothelium‐dependent dilation in soleus feed arteries from either AdipoKO or WT mice. In 1A arterioles from the gastrocnemius muscle of sedentary mice, endothelium‐dependent vasodilation to acetylcholine was not altered in AdipoKO compared to WT mice; however, exercise training increased endothelium‐dependent vasodilation to acetylcholine in WT, but not AdipoKO mice. These data suggest that deletion of adiponectin and a reduction of endothelial vasodilatory function stimulates a compensatory increase in oxidative capacity and capillarity in soleus muscle; however, no further increase in these parameters occurs in soleus muscle of AdipoKO mice in response to exercise training. In contrast, in gastrocnemius muscle, endothelial vasodilatory function was not affected by deletion of adiponectin in sedentary mice, but endothelium‐dependent vasodilation of 1A arterioles increased in response to exercise training in WT, but not in AdipoKO mice. Taken together, these data suggest that the role of adiponectin in adaptation of metabolic and microvascular function in response to exercise training is muscle‐specific.