Early and long-term changes of equine skeletal muscle in response to endurance training and detraining.
Abstract: Twenty-four 4-year-old Andalusian (Spanish breed) stallions were used to examine the plasticity of myosin heavy chain (MHC) phenotype and the metabolic profile in horse skeletal muscle with long-term endurance-exercise training and detraining. Sixteen horses underwent a training programme based on aerobic exercises for 8 months. Afterwards, they were kept in paddocks for 3 months. The remaining eight horses were used as controls. Three gluteus medius muscle biopsy samples were removed at depths of 20, 40 and 60 mm from each horse before (month 0), during (month 3) and after (month 8) training, and again after 3 months of detraining (month 11). MHC composition was analysed by electrophoresis and immunohistochemistry with anti-MHC monoclonal antibodies. Fibre areas, oxidative capacity and capillaries were studied histochemically. The activities of key muscle enzymes of aerobic (citrate synthase and 3-hydroxy-acyl-CoA-dehydrogenase) and anaerobic (phosphofructokinase and lactic dehydrogenase) metabolism and the intramuscular glycogen and triglyceride contents were also biochemically analysed. Early changes with training (3 months) included hypertrophy of type IIA fibres, a reduction of MHC-IIX with a concomitant increase of MHC-IIA, a rise in the number of high-oxidative fibres and in the activities of aerobic muscle enzymes and glycogen content. Long-term changes with training (8 months) were a further decline in the expression of MHC-IIX, an increase of slow MHC-I, additional increases of high-oxidative fibres, capillary density, activities of aerobic enzymes and endogenous glycogen; intramuscular lipid deposits also increased after 8 months of training whereas the activities of anaerobic enzymes declined. Most of exercise-induced alterations reverted after 3 months of detraining. These results indicate that endurance-exercise training induces a reversible transition of MHC composition in equine muscle in the order IIX-->IIA-->I, which is coordinated with changes in the metabolic properties of the muscle. Furthermore, a dose-response relationship was evident between the duration (in total) of training and the magnitude of muscle adaptations.
Publication Date: 2001-02-24 PubMed ID: 11211112DOI: 10.1007/s004240000408Google Scholar: Lookup
The Equine Research Bank provides access to a large database of publicly available scientific literature. Inclusion in the Research Bank does not imply endorsement of study methods or findings by Mad Barn.
- Journal Article
- Research Support
- Non-U.S. Gov't
Summary
This research summary has been generated with artificial intelligence and may contain errors and omissions. Refer to the original study to confirm details provided. Submit correction.
The research article investigates how endurance training and detraining impact the composition and metabolic profile of the skeletal muscle in horses. This is done by examining various elements like myosin heavy chain phenotype changes, muscle fiber, enzyme activities, and intramuscular glycogen and lipid content over different training periods and following detraining.
Methodology
- The study used 24 male Andalusian horses of 4 years old. The horses were divided into two groups, one being trained (16 horses) over 8 months and another untrained group serving as control (8 horses).
- Three muscle biopsies of the gluteus medius muscle were removed from each horse prior to, during, and after the endurance training, as well as after 3 months of detraining.
- The activities of key muscle enzymes of aerobic and anaerobic metabolism, intramuscular glycogen and triglyceride contents, fibre areas, and oxidative capacity were analyzed, along with the MHC (myosin heavy chain) composition.
Findings
- Training resulted in early (3 months) and long-term (8 months) changes. Early changes included an increase in MHC-IIA, high-oxidative fibres, aerobic muscle enzymes activities and glycogen content, along with a reduction in MHC-IIX. This essentially corresponds to a conditioning of the muscle to favor endurance exertion.
- Long-term changes included a further reduction in MHC-IIX and rise in slow MHC-I; increase in high-oxidative fibres, capillary density, activities of aerobic enzymes and endogenous glycogen. This suggests endurance training leads to significant muscle adaptation over time.
- Intramuscular lipid deposits also increased after 8 months of training while the activities of anaerobic enzymes reduced.
- Most of the changes induced due to the endurance-exercise training were found to be reversible after a period of 3 months of detraining, demonstrating muscle plasticity.
Conclusion
- The study illustrates that endurance-exercise training leads to reversible adaptations in equine muscle, predominantly a shift in myosin heavy chain composition from IIX–>IIA–>I.
- This change comes with concurrent alterations in the metabolic properties of the muscle, highlighting how endurance training can optimize the muscular environment for prolonged physical exertion.
- Moreover, the results also suggest a dose-response relationship – a correlation between the duration of training and the magnitude of muscle adaptations.
Cite This Article
APA
Serrano AL, Quiroz-Rothe E, Rivero JL.
(2001).
Early and long-term changes of equine skeletal muscle in response to endurance training and detraining.
Pflugers Arch, 441(2-3), 263-274.
https://doi.org/10.1007/s004240000408 Publication
Researcher Affiliations
- Department of Comparative and Pathological Anatomy, University of Cordoba, Spain.
MeSH Terms
- 3-Hydroxyacyl CoA Dehydrogenases / analysis
- Animals
- Biopsy
- Capillaries / anatomy & histology
- Citrate (si)-Synthase / analysis
- Electrophoresis, Polyacrylamide Gel
- Glycogen / analysis
- Horses / physiology
- Immunohistochemistry
- L-Lactate Dehydrogenase / analysis
- Lactic Acid / blood
- Male
- Muscle Fibers, Skeletal / chemistry
- Muscle Fibers, Skeletal / metabolism
- Muscle Fibers, Skeletal / ultrastructure
- Muscle, Skeletal / anatomy & histology
- Muscle, Skeletal / chemistry
- Muscle, Skeletal / physiology
- Myosin Heavy Chains / analysis
- Oxidation-Reduction
- Phosphofructokinase-1 / analysis
- Physical Conditioning, Animal
- Physical Endurance
- Physical Exertion
- Triglycerides / analysis
Citations
This article has been cited 23 times.- Wang ZZ, Xu HC, Zhou HX, Zhang CK, Li BM, He JH, Ni PS, Yu XM, Liu YQ, Li FH. Long-term detraining reverses the improvement of lifelong exercise on skeletal muscle ferroptosis and inflammation in aging rats: fiber-type dependence of the Keap1/Nrf2 pathway.. Biogerontology 2023 Oct;24(5):753-769.
- Fitzharris LE, Hezzell MJ, McConnell AK, Allen KJ. Training the equine respiratory muscles: Ultrasonographic measurement of muscle size.. Equine Vet J 2023 Mar;55(2):295-305.
- de Meeûs d'Argenteuil C, Boshuizen B, Vidal Moreno de Vega C, Leybaert L, de Maré L, Goethals K, De Spiegelaere W, Oosterlinck M, Delesalle C. Comparison of Shifts in Skeletal Muscle Plasticity Parameters in Horses in Three Different Muscles, in Answer to 8 Weeks of Harness Training.. Front Vet Sci 2021;8:718866.
- de Meeûs d'Argenteuil C, Boshuizen B, Oosterlinck M, van de Winkel D, De Spiegelaere W, de Bruijn CM, Goethals K, Vanderperren K, Delesalle CJG. Flexibility of equine bioenergetics and muscle plasticity in response to different types of training: An integrative approach, questioning existing paradigms.. PLoS One 2021;16(4):e0249922.
- Wang W, Mukai K, Takahashi K, Ohmura H, Takahashi T, Hatta H, Kitaoka Y. Short-term hypoxic training increases monocarboxylate transporter 4 and phosphofructokinase activity in Thoroughbreds.. Physiol Rep 2020 Jun;8(11):e14473.
- Farries G, Bryan K, McGivney CL, McGettigan PA, Gough KF, Browne JA, MacHugh DE, Katz LM, Hill EW. Expression Quantitative Trait Loci in Equine Skeletal Muscle Reveals Heritable Variation in Metabolism and the Training Responsive Transcriptome.. Front Genet 2019;10:1215.
- Hyatt JK, Brown EA, Deacon HM, McCall GE. Muscle-Specific Sensitivity to Voluntary Physical Activity and Detraining.. Front Physiol 2019;10:1328.
- Rooney MF, Porter RK, Katz LM, Hill EW. Skeletal muscle mitochondrial bioenergetics and associations with myostatin genotypes in the Thoroughbred horse.. PLoS One 2017;12(11):e0186247.
- White SH, Warren LK, Li C, Wohlgemuth SE. Submaximal exercise training improves mitochondrial efficiency in the gluteus medius but not in the triceps brachii of young equine athletes.. Sci Rep 2017 Oct 30;7(1):14389.
- Bryan K, McGivney BA, Farries G, McGettigan PA, McGivney CL, Gough KF, MacHugh DE, Katz LM, Hill EW. Equine skeletal muscle adaptations to exercise and training: evidence of differential regulation of autophagosomal and mitochondrial components.. BMC Genomics 2017 Aug 9;18(1):595.
- Acevedo LM, Raya AI, Martínez-Moreno JM, Aguilera-Tejero E, Rivero JL. Mangiferin protects against adverse skeletal muscle changes and enhances muscle oxidative capacity in obese rats.. PLoS One 2017;12(3):e0173028.
- Chanda M, Srikuea R, Cherdchutam W, Chairoungdua A, Piyachaturawat P. Modulating effects of exercise training regimen on skeletal muscle properties in female polo ponies.. BMC Vet Res 2016 Nov 4;12(1):245.
- Li C, White SH, Warren LK, Wohlgemuth SE. Effects of aging on mitochondrial function in skeletal muscle of American American Quarter Horses.. J Appl Physiol (1985) 2016 Jul 1;121(1):299-311.
- Luck MM, Le Moyec L, Barrey E, Triba MN, Bouchemal N, Savarin P, Robert C. Energetics of endurance exercise in young horses determined by nuclear magnetic resonance metabolomics.. Front Physiol 2015;6:198.
- Minami Y, Kawai M, Migita TC, Hiraga A, Miyata H. Free radical formation after intensive exercise in thoroughbred skeletal muscles.. J Equine Sci 2011;22(2):21-8.
- Minami Y, Yamano S, Kawai M, Hiraga A, Miyata H. Sarcoplasmic Reticulum Ca(2+)-ATPase Activity and Glycogen Content in Various Fiber Types after Intensive Exercise in Thoroughbred Horses.. J Equine Sci 2009;20(3):33-40.
- Curry JW, Hohl R, Noakes TD, Kohn TA. High oxidative capacity and type IIx fibre content in springbok and fallow deer skeletal muscle suggest fast sprinters with a resistance to fatigue.. J Exp Biol 2012 Nov 15;215(Pt 22):3997-4005.
- McGivney BA, McGettigan PA, Browne JA, Evans AC, Fonseca RG, Loftus BJ, Lohan A, MacHugh DE, Murphy BA, Katz LM, Hill EW. Characterization of the equine skeletal muscle transcriptome identifies novel functional responses to exercise training.. BMC Genomics 2010 Jun 23;11:398.
- Echigoya Y, Okabe H, Itou T, Endo H, Sakai T. Molecular characterization of glycogen synthase 1 and its tissue expression profile with type II hexokinase and muscle-type phosphofructokinase in horses.. Mol Biol Rep 2011 Jan;38(1):461-9.
- LeMoine CM, Craig PM, Dhekney K, Kim JJ, McClelland GB. Temporal and spatial patterns of gene expression in skeletal muscles in response to swim training in adult zebrafish (Danio rerio).. J Comp Physiol B 2010 Jan;180(1):151-60.
- McKenzie MJ, Yu S, Macko RF, McLenithan JC, Hafer-Macko CE. Human genome comparison of paretic and nonparetic vastus lateralis muscle in patients with hemiparetic stroke.. J Rehabil Res Dev 2008;45(2):273-81.
- Mänttiri S, Anttila K, Kaakinen M, Järvilehto M. Effects of low-intensity training on dihydropyridine and ryanodine receptor content in skeletal muscle of mouse.. J Physiol Biochem 2006 Dec;62(4):293-301.
- Gondim FJ, Modolo LV, Campos GE, Salgado I. Neuronal nitric oxide synthase is heterogeneously distributed in equine myofibers and highly expressed in endurance trained horses.. Can J Vet Res 2005 Jan;69(1):46-52.
Use Nutrition Calculator
Check if your horse's diet meets their nutrition requirements with our easy-to-use tool Check your horse's diet with our easy-to-use tool
Talk to a Nutritionist
Discuss your horse's feeding plan with our experts over a free phone consultation Discuss your horse's diet over a phone consultation
Submit Diet Evaluation
Get a customized feeding plan for your horse formulated by our equine nutritionists Get a custom feeding plan formulated by our nutritionists
