scholarly journals Physical exercise in Aging: Nine weeks of leg press or electrical stimulation training in 70 years old sedentary elderly people

2015 ◽  
Vol 25 (4) ◽  
pp. 237 ◽  
Author(s):  
Sandra Zampieri ◽  
Simone Mosole ◽  
Stefan Löfler ◽  
Hannah Fruhmann ◽  
Samantha Burggraf ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Electrical Stimulation ◽  
Physical Exercise ◽  
Motor Neurons ◽  
Muscle Fibers ◽  
Functional Tests ◽  
Trained Subjects ◽  
Leg Press ◽  
Slow Type ◽  
Muscle Biopsies ◽  
Type Fiber

Sarcopenia is the age-related loss of muscle mass and function, reducing force generation and mobility in the elderlies. Contributing factors include a severe decrease in both myofiber size and number as well as a decrease in the number of motor neurons innervating muscle fibers (mainly of fast type) which is sometimes accompanied by reinnervation of surviving slow type motor neurons (motor unit remodeling). Reduced mobility and functional limitations characterizing aging can promote a more sedentary lifestyle for older individuals, leading to a vicious circle further worsening muscle performance and the patients' quality of life, predisposing them to an increased risk of disability, and mortality. Several longitudinal studies have shown that regular exercise may extend life expectancy and reduce morbidity in aging people. Based on these findings, the Interreg IVa project aimed to recruit sedentary seniors with a normal life style and to train them for 9 weeks with either leg press (LP) exercise or electrical stimulation (ES). Before and at the end of both training periods, all the subjects were submitted to mobility functional tests and muscle biopsies from the Vastus Lateralis muscles of both legs. No signs of muscle damage and/or of inflammation were observed in muscle biopsies after the training. Functional tests showed that both LP and ES induced improvements of force and mobility of the trained subjects. Morphometrical and immunofluorescent analyses performed on muscle biopsies showed that ES significantly increased the size of fast type muscle fibers (p<0.001), together with a significant increase in the number of Pax7 and NCAM positive satellite cells (p<0.005). A significant decrease of slow type fiber diameter was observed in both ES and LP trained subjects (p<0.001). Altogether these results demonstrate the effectiveness of physical exercise either voluntary (LP) or passive (ES) to improve the functional performances of aging muscles. Here ES is demonstrated to be a safe home-based method to counteract fast type fiber atrophy, typically associated with aging skeletal muscle.

scholarly journals Biology of muscle atrophy and of its recovery by FES in aging and mobility impairments: roots and by-products

2015 ◽  
Vol 25 (4) ◽  
pp. 221 ◽  
Author(s):  
Ugo Carraro ◽  
Helmut Kern ◽  
Paolo Gava ◽  
Christian Hofer ◽  
Stefan Loefler ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Electrical Stimulation ◽  
Strong Evidence ◽  
Fiber Type ◽  
Muscle Fibers ◽  
Cauda Equina ◽  
Complete Disappearance ◽  
Muscle Adaptation ◽  
Irreversible Damage ◽  
Cord Injury ◽  
Muscle Biopsies

There is something in our genome that dictates life expectancy and there is nothing that can be done to avoid this; indeed, there is not yet any record of a person who has cheated death. Our physical prowess can vacillate substantially in our lifetime according to our activity levels and nutritional status and we may fight aging, but we will inevitably lose. We have presented strong evidence that the atrophy which accompanies aging is to some extent caused by loss of innervation. We compared muscle biopsies of sedentary seniors to those of life long active seniors, and show that these groups indeed have a different distribution of muscle fiber diameter and fiber type. The senior sportsmen have many more slow fiber-type groupings than the sedentary people which provides strong evidence of denervation-reinnervation events in muscle fibers. It appears that activity maintains the motoneurons and the muscle fibers. Premature or accelerated aging of muscle may occur as the result of many chronic diseases. One extreme case is provided by irreversible damage of the <em>Conus</em> and <em>Cauda Equina</em>, a spinal cord injury (SCI) sequela in which the human leg muscles may be completely and permanently disconnected from the nervous system with the almost complete disappearance of muscle fibers within 3-5 years from SCI. In cases of this extreme example of muscle degeneration, we have used 2D Muscle Color CT to gather data supporting the idea that electrical stimulation of denervated muscles can retain and even regain muscle. We show here that, if people are compliant, atrophy can be reversed. A further example of activity-related muscle adaptation is provided by the fact that mitochondrial distribution and density are significantly changed by functional electrical stimulation in horse muscle biopsies relative to those not receiving treatment. All together, the data indicate that FES is a good way to modify behaviors of muscle fibers by increasing the contraction load per day. Indeed, it should be possible to defer the muscle decline that occurs in aging people and in those who have become unable to participate in physical activities. Thus, FES should be considered for use in rehabilitation centers, nursing facilities and in critical care units when patients are completely inactive even for short periods of time.

The “KIMWIPE” Effect in Ultra-Thin Cryosections

1985 ◽  
Vol 43 ◽  
pp. 458-459
Author(s):  
I. Taylor ◽  
P. Ingram ◽  
J.R. Sommer
Keyword(s):  
Skeletal Muscle ◽  
Electrical Stimulation ◽  
Muscle Fibers ◽  
Ice Crystals ◽  
Crystal Formation ◽  
Ice Crystal ◽  
Thin Sections ◽  
Skeletal Muscle Fibers ◽  
Freeze Dried ◽  
Ice Crystal Formation

In studying quick-frozen single intact skeletal muscle fibers for structural and microchemical alterations that occur milliseconds, and fractions thereof, after electrical stimulation, we have developed a method to compare, directly, ice crystal formation in freeze-substituted thin sections adjacent to all, and beneath the last, freeze-dried cryosections. We have observed images in the cryosections that to our knowledge have not been published heretofore (Figs.1-4). The main features are that isolated, sometimes large regions of the sections appear hazy and have much less contrast than adjacent regions. Sometimes within the hazy regions there are smaller areas that appear crinkled and have much more contrast. We have also observed that while the hazy areas remain still, the regions of higher contrast visibly contract in the beam, often causing tears in the sections that are clearly not caused by ice crystals (Fig.3, arrows).

Neuromuscular electrical stimulation as an alternative to physical exercise in patients with COPD

2018 ◽  
pp. 59-64
Author(s):  
T. V. Kunafina ◽  
◽  
A. G. Chuchalin ◽  
A. S. Belevsky ◽  
N. N. Mescheryakova ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Electrical Stimulation ◽  
Physical Exercise ◽  
Neuromuscular Electrical Stimulation

scholarly journals Development of a human neuromuscular tissue-on-a-chip model on a 24-well-plate-format compartmentalized microfluidic device

Lab on a Chip ◽  
2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Kazuki Yamamoto ◽  
Nao Yamaoka ◽  
Yu Imaizumi ◽  
Takunori Nagashima ◽  
Taiki Furutani ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Skeletal Muscle ◽  
Microfluidic Device ◽  
Motor Neurons ◽  
Muscle Fibers ◽  
Three Dimensional ◽  
Tissue Model ◽  
Skeletal Muscle Fibers

A three-dimensional human neuromuscular tissue model that mimics the physically separated structures of motor neurons and skeletal muscle fibers is presented.

Connections between thoraco-coxal proprioceptive afferents and motor neurons in the locust

2000 ◽  
Vol 203 (3) ◽  
pp. 435-445
Author(s):  
M. Wildman
Keyword(s):  
Electrical Stimulation ◽  
Sensory Neurons ◽  
Motor Neurons ◽  
Chordotonal Organ ◽  
Synaptic Connections ◽  
Afferent Neurons ◽  
Postsynaptic Potentials ◽  
The Common ◽  
Proprioceptive Afferents ◽  
Stimulation Of

The position of the coxal segment of the locust hind leg relative to the thorax is monitored by a variety of proprioceptors, including three chordotonal organs and a myochordotonal organ. The sensory neurons of two of these proprioceptors, the posterior joint chordotonal organ (pjCO) and the myochordotonal organ (MCO), have axons in the purely sensory metathoracic nerve 2C (N2C). The connections made by these afferents with metathoracic motor neurons innervating thoraco-coxal and wing muscles were investigated by electrical stimulation of N2C and by matching postsynaptic potentials in motor neurons with afferent spikes in N2C. Stretch applied to the anterior rotator muscle of the coxa (M121), with which the MCO is associated, evoked sensory spikes in N2C. Some of the MCO afferent neurons make direct excitatory chemical synaptic connections with motor neurons innervating the thoraco-coxal muscles M121, M126 and M125. Parallel polysynaptic pathways via unidentified interneurons also exist between MCO afferents and these motor neurons. Connections with the common inhibitor 1 neuron and motor neurons innervating the thoraco-coxal muscles M123/4 and wing muscles M113 and M127 are polysynaptic. Afferents of the pjCO also make polysynaptic connections with motor neurons innervating thoraco-coxal and wing muscles, but no evidence for monosynaptic pathways was found.

scholarly journals A three-dimensional culture model of innervated human skeletal muscle enables studies of the adult neuromuscular junction and disease modeling

2018 ◽  
Author(s):  
Mohsen Afshar Bakooshli ◽  
Ethan S Lippmann ◽  
Ben Mulcahy ◽  
Nisha R Iyer ◽  
Christine T Nguyen ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Skeletal Muscle ◽  
Neuromuscular Junction ◽  
Motor Neuron ◽  
Motor Neurons ◽  
Human Skeletal Muscle ◽  
Disease Modeling ◽  
De Novo ◽  
Muscle Fibers ◽  
Three Dimensional ◽  
Adult Human

SummaryTwo-dimensional (2D) human skeletal muscle fiber cultures are ill equipped to support the contractile properties of maturing muscle fibers. This limits their application to the study of adult human neuromuscular junction (NMJ) development, a process requiring maturation of muscle fibers in the presence of motor neuron endplates. Here we describe a three-dimensional (3D) co-culture method whereby human muscle progenitors mixed with human pluripotent stem cell-derived motor neurons self-organize to form functional NMJ connections within two weeks. Functional connectivity between motor neuron endplates and muscle fibers is confirmed with calcium transient imaging and electrophysiological recordings. Notably, we only observed epsilon acetylcholine receptor subunit protein upregulation and activity in 3D co-culture. This demonstrates that the 3D co-culture system supports a developmental shift from the embryonic to adult form of the receptor that does not occur in 2D co-culture. Further, 3D co-culture treatments with myasthenia gravis patient sera shows the ease of studying human disease with the system. This work delivers a simple, reproducible, and adaptable method to model and evaluate adult human NMJ de novo development and disease in culture.

scholarly journals Changes in Gene Expression of the MCU Complex Are Induced by Electrical Stimulation in Adult Skeletal Muscle

2021 ◽  
Vol 11 ◽  
Author(s):  
Esteban R. Quezada ◽  
Alexis Díaz-Vegas ◽  
Enrique Jaimovich ◽  
Mariana Casas
Keyword(s):  
Gene Expression ◽  
Skeletal Muscle ◽  
Electrical Stimulation ◽  
Muscle Fibers ◽  
Low Frequency ◽  
Extracellular Atp ◽  
Mrna Levels ◽  
Dependent Manner ◽  
Adult Skeletal Muscle ◽  
Muscle Plasticity

The slow calcium transient triggered by low-frequency electrical stimulation (ES) in adult muscle fibers and regulated by the extracellular ATP/IP3/IP3R pathway has been related to muscle plasticity. A regulation of muscular tropism associated with the MCU has also been described. However, the role of transient cytosolic calcium signals and signaling pathways related to muscle plasticity over the regulation of gene expression of the MCU complex (MCU, MICU1, MICU2, and EMRE) in adult skeletal muscle is completely unknown. In the present work, we show that 270 0.3-ms-long pulses at 20-Hz ES (and not at 90 Hz) transiently decreased the mRNA levels of the MCU complex in mice flexor digitorum brevis isolated muscle fibers. Importantly, when ATP released after 20-Hz ES is hydrolyzed by the enzyme apyrase, the repressor effect of 20 Hz on mRNA levels of the MCU complex is lost. Accordingly, the exposure of muscle fibers to 30 μM exogenous ATP produces the same effect as 20-Hz ES. Moreover, the use of apyrase in resting conditions (without ES) increased mRNA levels of MCU, pointing out the importance of extracellular ATP concentration over MCU mRNA levels. The use of xestospongin B (inhibitor of IP3 receptors) also prevented the decrease of mRNA levels of MCU, MICU1, MICU2, and EMRE mediated by a low-frequency ES. Our results show that the MCU complex can be regulated by electrical stimuli in a frequency-dependent manner. The changes observed in mRNA levels may be related to changes in the mitochondria, associated with the phenotypic transition from a fast- to a slow-type muscle, according to the described effect of this stimulation frequency on muscle phenotype. The decrease in mRNA levels of the MCU complex by exogenous ATP and the increase in MCU levels when basal ATP is reduced with the enzyme apyrase indicate that extracellular ATP may be a regulator of the MCU complex. Moreover, our results suggest that this regulation is part of the axes linking low-frequency stimulation with ATP/IP3/IP3R.

scholarly journals Activity-dependent nuclear translocation and intranuclear distribution of NFATc in adult skeletal muscle fibers

2001 ◽  
Vol 155 (1) ◽  
pp. 27-40 ◽  
Author(s):  
Yewei Liu ◽  
Zoltán Cseresnyés ◽  
William R. Randall ◽  
Martin F. Schneider
Keyword(s):  
Skeletal Muscle ◽  
Electrical Stimulation ◽  
Nuclear Translocation ◽  
Fiber Type ◽  
Muscle Fibers ◽  
Adult Skeletal Muscle ◽  
Skeletal Muscle Fibers ◽  
Slow Twitch ◽  
Nuclear Foci ◽  
Fast Twitch

TTranscription factor nuclear factor of activated T cells NFATc (NFATc1, NFAT2) may contribute to slow-twitch skeletal muscle fiber type–specific gene expression. Green fluorescence protein (GFP) or FLAG fusion proteins of either wild-type or constitutively active mutant NFATc [NFATc(S→A)] were expressed in cultured adult mouse skeletal muscle fibers from flexor digitorum brevis (predominantly fast-twitch). Unstimulated fibers expressing NFATc(S→A) exhibited a distinct intranuclear pattern of NFATc foci. In unstimulated fibers expressing NFATc–GFP, fluorescence was localized at the sarcomeric z-lines and absent from nuclei. Electrical stimulation using activity patterns typical of slow-twitch muscle, either continuously at 10 Hz or in 5-s trains at 10 Hz every 50 s, caused cyclosporin A–sensitive appearance of fluorescent foci of NFATc–GFP in all nuclei. Fluorescence of nuclear foci increased during the first hour of stimulation and then remained constant during a second hour of stimulation. Kinase inhibitors and ionomycin caused appearance of nuclear foci of NFATc–GFP without electrical stimulation. Nuclear translocation of NFATc–GFP did not occur with either continuous 1 Hz stimulation or with the fast-twitch fiber activity pattern of 0.1-s trains at 50 Hz every 50 s. The stimulation pattern–dependent nuclear translocation of NFATc demonstrated here could thus contribute to fast-twitch to slow-twitch fiber type transformation.

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