Skeletal muscle nitric oxide signaling and exercise: a focus on glucose metabolism

2012 ◽  
Vol 303 (3) ◽  
pp. E301-E307 ◽  
Author(s):  
Glenn K. McConell ◽  
Stephen Rattigan ◽  
Robert S. Lee-Young ◽  
Glenn D. Wadley ◽  
Troy L. Merry

Nitric oxide (NO) is an important vasodilator and regulator in the cardiovascular system, and this link was the subject of a Nobel prize in 1998. However, NO also plays many other regulatory roles, including thrombosis, immune function, neural activity, and gastrointestinal function. Low concentrations of NO are thought to have important signaling effects. In contrast, high concentrations of NO can interact with reactive oxygen species, causing damage to cells and cellular components. A less-recognized site of NO production is within skeletal muscle, where small increases are thought to have beneficial effects such as regulating glucose uptake and possibly blood flow, but higher levels of production are thought to lead to deleterious effects such as an association with insulin resistance. This review will discuss the role of NO in skeletal muscle during and following exercise, including in mitochondrial biogenesis, muscle efficiency, and blood flow with a particular focus on its potential role in regulating skeletal muscle glucose uptake during exercise.

2003 ◽  
Vol 94 (3) ◽  
pp. 935-940 ◽  
Author(s):  
John B. Buckwalter ◽  
Valerie C. Curtis ◽  
Zoran Valic ◽  
Stephen B. Ruble ◽  
Philip S. Clifford

To test the hypothesis that nitric oxide (NO) production is essential for endogenous vascular remodeling in ischemic skeletal muscle, 22 New Zealand White rabbits were chronically instrumented with transit-time flow probes on the common iliac arteries and underwent femoral ligation to produce unilateral hindlimb ischemia. Iliac blood flow and arterial pressure were recorded at rest and during a graded exercise test. An osmotic pump connected to a femoral arterial catheter continuously delivered N-nitro-l-arginine methyl ester (a NO synthase inhibitor) or a control solution ( N-nitro-d-arginine methyl ester or phenylephrine) to the ischemic limb over a 2-wk period. At 1, 3, and 6 wk after femoral ligation, maximal treadmill exercise blood flow in the ischemic limb was reduced compared with baseline in each group. However, maximal exercise blood flow was significantly ( P < 0.05) lower in the l-NAME-treated group than in controls for the duration of the study: 48 ± 4 vs. 60 ± 5 ml/min at 6 wk. Consistent with the reduction in maximal blood flow response, the duration of voluntary exercise was also substantially ( P < 0.05) shorter in thel-NAME-treated group: 539 ± 67 vs. 889 ± 87 s. Resting blood flow was unaffected by femoral ligation in either group. The results of this study show that endogenous vascular remodeling, which partially alleviated the initial deficit in blood flow, was interrupted by NO synthase inhibition. Therefore, we conclude that NO is essential for endogenous collateral development and angiogenesis in ischemic skeletal muscle in the rabbit.


2003 ◽  
Vol 285 (1) ◽  
pp. E123-E129 ◽  
Author(s):  
M. A. Vincent ◽  
E. J. Barrett ◽  
J. R. Lindner ◽  
M. G. Clark ◽  
S. Rattigan

We examined the effects of inhibiting nitric oxide synthase with Nω-nitro-l-arginine-methyl ester (l-NAME) on total hindlimb blood flow, muscle microvascular recruitment, and hindlimb glucose uptake during euglycemic hyperinsulinemia in vivo in the rat. We used two independent methods to measure microvascular perfusion. In one group of animals, microvascular recruitment was measured using the metabolism of exogenously infused 1-methylxanthine (1-MX), and in a second group contrast-enhanced ultrasound (CEU) was used. Limb glucose uptake was measured by arterial-venous concentration differences after 2 h of insulin infusion. Saline alone did not alter femoral artery flow, glucose uptake, or 1-MX metabolism. Insulin (10 mU·min-1·kg-1) significantly increased hindlimb total blood flow (0.69 ± 0.02 to 1.22 ± 0.11 ml/min, P < 0.05), glucose uptake (0.27 ± 0.05 to 0.95 ± 0.08 μmol/min, P < 0.05), 1-MX uptake (5.0 ± 0.5 to 8.5 ± 1.0 nmol/min, P < 0.05), and skeletal muscle microvascular volume measured by CEU (10.0 ± 1.6 to 15.0 ± 1.2 video intensity units, P < 0.05). Addition of l-NAME to insulin completely blocked the effect of insulin on both total limb flow and microvascular recruitment (measured using either 1-MX or CEU) and blunted glucose uptake by 40% ( P < 0.05). We conclude that insulin specifically recruits flow to the microvasculture in skeletal muscle via a nitric oxide-dependent pathway and that this may be important to insulin's overall action to regulate glucose disposal.


2012 ◽  
Vol 303 (9) ◽  
pp. H1096-H1106 ◽  
Author(s):  
Krishna Sriram ◽  
Beatriz Y. Salazar Vázquez ◽  
Amy G. Tsai ◽  
Pedro Cabrales ◽  
Marcos Intaglietta ◽  
...  

Here, we present an analytic model of arteriolar mechanics that accounts for key autoregulation mechanisms, including the myogenic response and the vasodilatory effects of nitric oxide (NO) in the vasculature. It couples the fluid mechanics of blood flow in arterioles with solid mechanics of the vessel wall and includes the effects of wall shear stress- and stretch-induced endothelial NO production. The model can be used to describe the regulation of blood flow and NO transport under small changes in hematocrit and to analyze the regulatory response of arterioles to small changes in hematocrit. Our analysis revealed that the experimentally observed paradoxical increase in cardiac output with small increases in hematocrit results from the combination of increased NO production and the effects of a strong myogenic response modulated by elevated levels of WSS. Our findings support the hypothesis that vascular resistance varies inversely with blood viscosity for small changes in hematocrit in a healthy circulation that responds to shear stress stimuli. They also suggest beneficial effects independent of changes in O2carrying capacity associated with the postsurgical transfusion of one or two units of blood.


Blood ◽  
2008 ◽  
Vol 112 (11) ◽  
pp. 728-728 ◽  
Author(s):  
Trista E. North ◽  
Wolfram Goessling ◽  
Marian Peeters ◽  
Pulin Li ◽  
Allegra M. Lord ◽  
...  

Abstract During vertebrate embryogenesis, definitive hematopoietic stem cells (HSC) arise in the aorta-gonads-mesonephros (AGM). Based on the functional conservation of AGM hematopoiesis from fish to man, an evolutionary advantage for the production of stem cells within the aorta must exist. The identification of the signals that induce HSCs at this developmental stage is of significant interest. Through a chemical genetic screen in zebrafish, a diverse group of compounds that regulate blood flow were found to affect the production of runx1/cmyb+ HSCs. These compounds represented modulators of the adrenergic and renin/angiotensin pathways, and Ca+, Na+ and nitric oxide (NO) signaling. In general, we determined that compounds which increased blood flow enhanced HSC number, whereas chemicals that decreased blood flow diminished runx1/cmyb expression. The conserved physiological mechanism of action of each compound on the vasculature was confirmed in vivo by confocal microscopy of transgenic fli1:GFP reporter fish. In the zebrafish, the step-wise initiation of heartbeat, establishment of vigorous circulation and onset of definitive hematopoiesis in the aorta-gonad-mesonephros region (AGM) suggests that blood flow may trigger HSC formation. silent heart (sih) embryos that lack a heartbeat and fail to establish blood circulation exhibit severely reduced numbers of runx1+ HSCs in the AGM. Blood flow modifying agents primarily exerted their effects after the onset of the heartbeat (>24 hpf), however, only compounds that increase NO production (L-Arginine, S-nitroso-N-acetyl-penicillamine (SNAP)) could induce HSC formation prior to the initiation of circulation (5 somites to 22 hpf). Furthermore, SNAP rescued HSC production in sih mutant zebrafish, whereas other drugs that increased blood flow could not. Treatment with the NO synthase (NOS) inhibitor, N-nitro-L-arginine methyl ester (L-NAME), and morpholino-oligonucleotide (MO)-knockdown of nos1 (nnos/enos) blocked HSC development. Additionally, modulation of downstream components of the NO pathway affected HSC production in the zebrafish embryo. Together these data indicate that NO signaling is the downstream effector of blood flow on AGM HSC induction. To document that NO-mediated regulation of HSC formation was conserved across vertebrate species, we examined definitive HSC production in the murine AGM. Nos3 (eNos) was found to be expressed in the AGM endothelium and aortic hematopoietic clusters. Additionally, Nos3 expression specifically marks the population of HSCs with long-term adult bone marrow repopulating activity. Intrauterine NOS inhibition with L-NAME resulted in a lack of hematopoietic clusters in the AGM and a failure to generate transplantable hematopoietic progenitors. Our work provides a direct link between the initiation of circulation and the onset of AGM hematopoiesis, and identifies NO signaling as a conserved downstream regulator of HSC development. ^TEN and WG contributed equally to this work


2006 ◽  
Vol 291 (3) ◽  
pp. R803-R809 ◽  
Author(s):  
Kari K. Kalliokoski ◽  
Henning Langberg ◽  
Ann Kathrine Ryberg ◽  
Celena Scheede-Bergdahl ◽  
Simon Doessing ◽  
...  

Synergic action of nitric oxide (NO) and prostaglandins (PG) in the regulation of muscle blood flow during exercise has been demonstrated. In the present study, we investigated whether these vasodilators also regulate local blood flow, flow heterogeneity, and glucose uptake within the exercising skeletal muscle. Skeletal muscle blood flow was measured in seven healthy young men using near-infrared spectroscopy and indocyanine green and muscle glucose uptake using positron emission tomography and 2-fluoro-2-deoxy-d-[18F]glucose without and with local blockade of NO and PG at rest and during one-legged dynamic knee-extension exercise. Local blockade was produced by infusing nitro-l-arginine methyl ester and indomethacin directly in the muscle via a microdialysis catheter. Blood flow and glucose uptake were measured in the region of blockade and in two additional regions of vastus lateralis muscle 1 and 4 cm away from the infusion of blockers. Local blockade during exercise at 25 and 40 watts significantly decreased blood flow in the infusion region and in the region 1 cm away from the site of infusion but not in the region 4 cm away. During exercise, muscle glucose uptake did not show any regional differences in response to blockade. These results show that NO and PG synergistically contribute to the local regulation of blood flow in skeletal muscle independently of muscle glucose uptake in healthy young men. Thus these vasodilators can play a role in regulating microvascular blood flow in localized regions of vastus lateralis muscle but do not influence regional glucose uptake. The findings suggest that local substrate uptake in skeletal muscle can be regulated independently of regional changes in blood flow.


1998 ◽  
Vol 94 (2) ◽  
pp. 175-180 ◽  
Author(s):  
R. Butler ◽  
A.D. Morris ◽  
A. D. Struthers

1. Recent evidence shows that skeletal muscle blood flow is an important determinant of insulin sensitivity and that insulin-mediated vasodilatation is nitric oxide dependent. These results have given rise to the hypothesis that endothelial nitric oxide inhibition may decrease insulin sensitivity in humans. 2. We examined this hypothesis directly by evaluating the effects of systemic nitric oxide synthase inhibition with NG-monomethyl l-arginine (3 mg h−1 kg−1) on whole-body glucose uptake (euglycaemic hyperinsulinaemic clamp) and calf blood flow (bilateral calf venous occlusion plethysmography) in 16 healthy male subjects in a randomized, double-blind, placebo-controlled, crossover study. 3. NG-Monomethyl l-arginine infusion was associated with a pressor effect (119/61 ± 2/2 compared with 114/58 ± 2/2 mmHg for placebo; P < 0.001), and a negative chronotropic response (57 ± 2 compared with 62 ± 2 beats/min for placebo; P < 0.001). The glucose infusion rate was significantly increased after infusion of NG-monomethyl l-arginine (8.9 ± 0.9 compared with 7.9 ± 0.8 mg min−1 kg−1 for placebo; P = 0.002). Whole-body glucose uptake increased during the clamp, with values of 9.4 ± 0.7 and 10.9 ± 0.8 mg min−1 kg−1 for placebo and NG-monomethyl l-arginine respectively (P = 0.036; 95% confidence interval 0.2,2.8). NG-Monomethyl l-arginine was associated with increased calf blood flow by comparison with placebo (P < 0.05, area under curve). 4. These data show for the first time that systemic inhibition of nitric oxide synthesis increases rather than decreases whole-body glucose uptake. We suggest that the higher skeletal muscle blood flow seen after NG-monomethyl l-arginine may explain the observed increase in whole-body glucose uptake.


Blood ◽  
2016 ◽  
Vol 128 (22) ◽  
pp. 1020-1020
Author(s):  
Caterina P. Minniti ◽  
Vandana Sachdev ◽  
Hannoush Hwaida ◽  
Stanislav Sidenko ◽  
Myron A Waclawiw ◽  
...  

Abstract Individuals with SCD have recurrent episodes of ischemia-reperfusion in vital organs, and abnormal microcirculation is considered a major determinant of end organ damage. Hydroxyurea (HU) treatment has been shown to produce ATP- and nitric oxide-mediated vasodilation, and to improve red cells deformability Few tools are available to quantitatively measure microvascular blood flow in vivo. The purpose of this study was to assess the ability of a novel ECHO based imaging modality to assess the effect of hydroxyurea on cardiac and skeletal muscle perfusion in patients with sickle cell anemia. Methods and Results: Twenty-one HBSS/B0 patients, of whom 15 were treated with HU(average daily dose of 18 ± 8 mg/kg/day), underwent brachial artery ultrasound, echocardiography and contrast enhanced ultrasound (CEU) perfusion imaging of deep flexor muscles of the forearm as well as the myocardium at rest and during vasodilator stress with regadenoson ( ClinicalTrials.gov NCT016028090). Quantitative image analysis was performed to obtain microvascular blood volume and flow velocity measurements. Patients on HU had a lower white blood cell count (6.7±2.1 K/uL vs 10.0±2.1 K/uL, p<0.05), higher mean corpuscular volume (103.6±11.5 fL vs 82.5±8.6 fL, p<0.05) , and lower reticulocyte count (9.3±3.4% vs 15.7±5.6%, p<0.05) as well as a trend towards higher hemoglobin (9.4±1.4g/dL vs 7.9±1.1g/dL , p=NS). Table 1. Cardiac output and total myocardial work was not affected by HU treatment and macrovascular flow in the brachial artery was not affected (Figure 1A). In contrast, both skeletal muscle microvascular flow and myocardial microvascular flow was significantly higher in the SCD patients on HU therapy (Figure 1B, 1C). Conclusions: The beneficial effects of HU therapy in SCD are varied, and clinical effects are often seen prior to a rise in fetal hemoglobin. Other effects, such as lower hemolysis, improved red cell deformability, and inhibition of adhesive properties in the microvasculature have been reported. Some of the beneficial effects of HU may be due to stimulation of nitric oxide synthase, induction of cyclic GMP dependent signaling and improved NO bioavailability. Our study indicates that SCD patients on chronic HU therapy have higher levels of myocardial and skeletal muscle microvascular blood flow. Long term studies are necessary to evaluate whether HU reduces end organ damage in SCA. Skeletal muscle and myocardial microvascular blood flow. Each panel shows blood flow in all SCD patients (red filled diamonds), SCD patients not on HU (red open triangles) and SCD patients on HU (red open inverted triangles). Panel A. Skeletal muscle perfusion normalized to hemoglobin (A x β x hemoglobin) Panel B. Myocardial perfusion normalized to hemoglobin level and total myocardial work. Figure 1. Figure 1. Disclosures No relevant conflicts of interest to declare.


1995 ◽  
Vol 268 (2) ◽  
pp. R492-R497 ◽  
Author(s):  
C. H. Lang ◽  
M. Ajmal ◽  
A. G. Baillie

Intracerebroventricular injection of N-methyl-D-aspartate (NMDA) produces hyperglycemia and increases whole body glucose uptake. The purpose of the present study was to determine in rats which tissues are responsible for the elevated rate of glucose disposal. NMDA was injected intracerebroventricularly, and the glucose metabolic rate (Rg) was determined for individual tissues 20-60 min later using 2-deoxy-D-[U-14C]glucose. NMDA decreased Rg in skin, ileum, lung, and liver (30-35%) compared with time-matched control animals. In contrast, Rg in skeletal muscle and heart was increased 150-160%. This increased Rg was not due to an elevation in plasma insulin concentrations. In subsequent studies, the sciatic nerve in one leg was cut 4 h before injection of NMDA. NMDA increased Rg in the gastrocnemius (149%) and soleus (220%) in the innervated leg. However, Rg was not increased after NMDA in contralateral muscles from the denervated limb. Data from a third series of experiments indicated that the NMDA-induced increase in Rg by innervated muscle and its abolition in the denervated muscle were not due to changes in muscle blood flow. The results of the present study indicate that 1) central administration of NMDA increases whole body glucose uptake by preferentially stimulating glucose uptake by skeletal muscle, and 2) the enhanced glucose uptake by muscle is neurally mediated and independent of changes in either the plasma insulin concentration or regional blood flow.


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