Skip to main page content
U.S. flag

An official website of the United States government

Dot gov

The .gov means it’s official.
Federal government websites often end in .gov or .mil. Before sharing sensitive information, make sure you’re on a federal government site.

Https

The site is secure.
The https:// ensures that you are connecting to the official website and that any information you provide is encrypted and transmitted securely.

Access keys NCBI Homepage MyNCBI Homepage Main Content Main Navigation
Comparative Study
. 2008 Apr;40(4):691-8.
doi: 10.1249/MSS.0b013e318160ff84.

Human muscle gene expression following resistance exercise and blood flow restriction

Micah J Drummond  1 , Satoshi Fujita, Takashi Abe, Hans C Dreyer, Elena Volpi, Blake B Rasmussen
Affiliations
Comparative Study

Human muscle gene expression following resistance exercise and blood flow restriction

Micah J Drummond et al. Med Sci Sports Exerc. 2008 Apr.

Erratum in

  • Med Sci Sports Exerc 2008 Jun;40(6):1191.. Takashi, Abe [corrected to Abe, Takashi].

Abstract

Introduction: Blood flow restriction in combination with low-intensity resistance exercise (REFR) increases skeletal muscle size to a similar extent as compared with traditional high-intensity resistance exercise training. However, there are limited data describing the molecular adaptations that occur after REFR.

Purpose: To determine whether hypoxia inducible factor-1 alpha (HIF-1alpha) and REDD1 mRNA are expressed differently in REFR compared with low-intensity resistance exercise with no blood flow restriction (CONTROL). Secondly, to determine whether low-intensity resistance exercise is able to induce changes in mRNA expression of several anabolic and catabolic genes as typically seen with high-intensity resistance exercise.

Methods: Six subjects were studied at baseline and 3 h after a bout of leg resistance exercise (20% 1RM) in REFR and CONTROL subjects. Each subject participated in both groups, with 3 wk separating each visit. Muscle biopsy samples were analyzed for mRNA expression, using qRT-PCR.

Result: Our primary finding was that there were no differences between CONTROL and REFR for any of the selected genes at 3 h after exercise (P > 0.05). However, low-intensity resistance exercise increased HIF-1alpha, p21, MyoD, and muscle RING finger 1 (MuRF1) mRNA expression and decreased REDD1 and myostatin mRNA expression in both groups (P < 0.05).

Conclusion: Low-intensity resistance exercise can alter skeletal muscle mRNA expression of several genes associated with muscle growth and remodeling, such as REDD1, HIF-1alpha, MyoD, MuRF1, and myostatin. Further, the results from REFR and CONTROL were similar, indicating that the changes in early postexercise gene expression were attributable to the low-intensity resistance exercise bout, and not blood flow restriction.

PubMed Disclaimer

Conflict of interest statement

The authors report no conflict of interest or endorsement by ACSM.

Figures

Figure 1
Figure 1
Results represent A) HIF-1α and B) REDD1 mRNA expression between CONTROL and REFR at baseline and 3h post resistance exercise. Values are mean ± SEM. * indicates main effect for time when CONTROL and REFR are combined (P<0.05).
Figure 2
Figure 2
Results represent A) p21 and B) Cyclin D1 mRNA expression between CONTROL and REFR at baseline and 3h post resistance exercise. Values are mean ± SEM. * indicates main effect for time when CONTROL and REFR are combined (P<0.05).
Figure 3
Figure 3
Results represent A) IGF-1 and B) MGF mRNA expression between CONTROL and REFR at baseline and 3h post resistance exercise. Values are mean ± SEM.
Figure 4
Figure 4
Results represent A) MyoD and B) Myogenin mRNA expression between CONTROL and REFR at baseline and 3h post resistance exercise. Values are mean ± SEM. * indicates main effect for time when CONTROL and REFR are combined (P<0.05).
Figure 5
Figure 5
Results represent Myostatin mRNA expression between CONTROL and REFR at baseline and 3h post resistance exercise. Values are mean ± SEM. * indicates main effect for time when CONTROL and REFR are combined (P<0.05).
Figure 6
Figure 6
Results represent A) mTOR and B) S6K1 mRNA expression between CONTROL and REFR at baseline and 3h post resistance exercise. Values are mean ± SEM.
Figure 7
Figure 7
Results represent A) MuRF1 and B) MAFbx mRNA expression between CONTROL and REFR at baseline and 3h post resistance exercise. Values are mean ± SEM. * indicates main effect for time when CONTROL and REFR are combined (P<0.05).
See this image and copyright information in PMC

References

    1. Abe T, Kearns CF, Sato Y. Muscle size and strength are increased following walk training with restricted venous blood flow from the leg muscle, Kaatsu-walk training. J Appl Physiol. 2006;100(5):1460–1466. - PubMed
    1. Abe T, Yasuda T, Midorikawa T, Sato Y, Kearns CF, Inoue K, Koizumi K, Ishii N. Skeletal muscle size and circulating IGF-1 are increased after two weeks of twice daily KAATSU resistance training. Int J Kaatsu Training Res. 2005;1(6–12)
    1. Ameln H, Gustafsson T, Sundberg CJ, Okamoto K, Jansson E, Poellinger L, Makino Y. Physiological activation of hypoxia inducible factor-1 in human skeletal muscle. Faseb J. 2005;19(8):1009–1011. - PubMed
    1. Arsham AM, Howell JJ, Simon MC. A novel hypoxia-inducible factor-independent hypoxic response regulating mammalian target of rapamycin and its targets. J Biol Chem. 2003;278(32):29655–29660. - PubMed
    1. Bamman MM, Shipp JR, Jiang J, Gower BA, Hunter GR, Goodman A, McLafferty CL, Jr, Urban RJ. Mechanical load increases muscle IGF-I and androgen receptor mRNA concentrations in humans. Am J Physiol Endocrinol Metab. 2001;280(3):E383–E390. - PubMed

Publication types