Cardiac and skeletal muscle energy metabolism in heart failure: beneficial effects of voluntary activity.
OBJECTIVE
Mitochondrial function and metabolic profile of slow and fast skeletal muscles and cardiac muscle are altered in chronic heart failure (CHF), suggesting a generalized metabolic myopathy in this disease. The aim of this study was to investigate the potential beneficial effects of voluntary activity on cardiac and skeletal muscle energetics in heart failure.


METHODS
Heart failure was induced in rats by aortic stenosis. Four months after surgery, part of sham and CHF animals were randomly assigned to activity cages equipped with running wheels for 8 weeks or kept sedentary. Mitochondrial capacity and regulation were measured using saponin skinned fibers in left ventricle, slow and fast skeletal muscles, and metabolic and myosin profiles were established.


RESULTS
Despite four times lower performances of CHF rats, alterations in metabolic and myosin parameters (oxidative capacity, mitochondrial enzymes, cytosolic and mitochondrial creatine kinase, myosin heavy chains) observed in all muscles of CHF animals were almost fully restored in soleus muscle though unchanged in heart and fast skeletal muscles.


CONCLUSIONS
These results show the powerful beneficial effect of physical activity specifically on active slow oxidative skeletal muscle in CHF, without the worsening of cardiac muscle metabolism.
De Sousa
Elvira
E
U-446 INS.E.RM, Université Paris-Sud, 5 rue Jean-Baptiste Clément 92296, Châtenay-Malabry, France.
Lechêne
Patrick
P
Fortin
Dominique
D
N'Guessan
Benoît
B
Belmadani
Souad
S
Bigard
Xavier
X
Veksler
Vladimir
V
Ventura-Clapier
Renée
R
D000818:Animals; D004734:Energy Metabolism; D006333:Heart Failure / Q000378:metabolism* / Q000473:pathology / Q000503:physiopathology; D008297:Male; D008929:Mitochondria, Heart / Q000378:metabolism; D018482:Muscle, Skeletal / Q000378:metabolism*; D009206:Myocardium / Q000378:metabolism*; D010085:Oxidative Phosphorylation; D005082:Physical Exertion / Q000502:physiology*; D051381:Rats; D017208:Rats, Wistar; D016277:Ventricular Function, Left