Passive and post-exercise cold-water immersion augments PGC-1α and VEGF expression in human skeletal muscle.

C H Joo,J P Morton,G L Close,C Mawhinney,R Allan,J D Bartlett,J Louhelainen,B Drust,Warren Gregson,T S Jeong

doi:10.1007/s00421-016-3480-1

C H Joo, J P Morton + Show 8 more

Open Access

https://doi.org/10.1007/s00421-016-3480-1

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Abstract

PurposeWe tested the hypothesis that both post-exercise and passive cold water immersion (CWI) increases PGC-1α and VEGF mRNA expression in human skeletal muscle.Method Study 1 Nine males completed an intermittent running protocol (8 × 3-min bouts at 90 % dot{V}{text{O}}_{2} hbox{max}, interspersed with 3-min active recovery (1.5-min at 25 % and 1.5-min at 50 % dot{V}{text{O}}_{2} hbox{max}) before undergoing CWI (10 min at 8 °C) or seated rest (CONT) in a counterbalanced, randomised manner. Study 2 Ten males underwent an identical CWI protocol under passive conditions.Results Study 1 PGC-1α mRNA increased in CONT (~3.4-fold; P < 0.001) and CWI (~5.9-fold; P < 0.001) at 3 h post-exercise with a greater increase observed in CWI (P < 0.001). VEGFtotal mRNA increased after CWI only (~2.4-fold) compared with CONT (~1.1-fold) at 3 h post-exercise (P < 0.01). Study 2 Following CWI, PGC-1α mRNA expression was significantly increased ~1.3-fold (P = 0.001) and 1.4-fold (P = 0.0004) at 3 and 6 h, respectively. Similarly, VEGF165 mRNA was significantly increased in CWI ~1.9-fold (P = 0.03) and 2.2-fold (P = 0.009) at 3 and 6 h post-immersion.ConclusionsData confirm post-exercise CWI augments the acute exercise-induced expression of PGC-1α mRNA in human skeletal muscle compared to exercise per se. Additionally CWI per se mediates the activation of PGC-1α and VEGF mRNA expression in human skeletal muscle. Cold water may therefore enhance the adaptive response to acute exercise.

Highlights

As a transcriptional co-activator, peroxisome proliferatoractivated receptor γ coactivator-1α (PGC-1α) is well accepted as a critical regulator of mitochondrial biogenesis in skeletal muscle (Puigserver and Spiegelman 2003)
Exercise heart rate (HR) and Ratings of perceived exertion (RPE) were similar between CONT and cold-water immersion (CWI) conditions (P > 0.05)
We provide novel data by demonstrating that superimposing the stress of post-exercise CWI on the prior stress of exercise further increases the expression of both PGC-1α and vascular endothelial growth factor (VEGF) mRNA expression in human skeletal muscle

Summary

Introduction

As a transcriptional co-activator, peroxisome proliferatoractivated receptor γ coactivator-1α (PGC-1α) is well accepted as a critical regulator of mitochondrial biogenesis in skeletal muscle (Puigserver and Spiegelman 2003). Consistent with its initial discovery as “cold-inducible” (Puigserver et al 1998), there is a growing body of literature from both rodent (Oliveira et al 2004; Kim et al 2005; Stancic et al 2013) and human tissues (Slivka et al 2012, 2013; Ihsan et al 2014, 2015) demonstrating that exposure to an acute and prolonged “cold” stimulus (as mediated via cold ambient temperatures or cold water immersion) up-regulates PGC-1α expression When taken together, these data suggest that acute cold exposure may enhance the response over and above the stress of exercise alone to induce the classical hallmark adaptations to endurance training. A fundamental question remains as to the relative importance of the cold stimulus upon mediating both mitochondrial and angiogenic pathways and/or whether superimposing the stress of cooling on the prior stress of exercise represents a superior stimulus

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