Effects of angiotensin-converting enzyme inhibitor and exercise training on exercise capacity and skeletal muscle.
OBJECTIVE
Physical fitness is closely related with cardiovascular health. We examined the effects of angiotensin-converting enzyme inhibitor, exercise training and their combination on exercise capacity as well as skeletal muscle fiber type and capillarity in spontaneously hypertensive rats (SHR).


METHODS
Seven-week-old male SHR were allocated to four groups: sedentary control (C), treatment with perindopril (3 mg/kg per day) (Per), exercise training on a treadmill (EX), and their combination (Per + EX). Following 8-week interventions, rats were submitted to a stepwise exercise test on a treadmill. After experiments, fiber type and capillarity in soleus muscle were examined.


RESULTS
Exercise capacity significantly increased in Per compared with in C. Combination of exercise training and perindopril further increased exercise capacity compared with perindopril alone, whereas there was no significant difference in exercise capacity between EX and Per + EX. Capillary density increased similarly in Per and EX compared with in C. Combination of exercise training and perindopril further increased capillary density compared with exercise training alone. The percentage of type I fiber increased only in Per + EX.


CONCLUSIONS
We found that in growing SHR, chronic treatment with perindopril enhances untrained exercise capacity, while it does not affect acquired exercise capacity as a result of exercise training. We also found that perindopril promotes adaptive changes of skeletal muscle in response to exercise such as increases in capillary density and percentage of type I fiber.
Minami
Naoyoshi
N
Department of Internal Medicine and Rehabilitation Science, Tohoku University Graduate School of Medicine, Sendai, Japan. minaoyo@mail.tains.tohoku.ac.jp
Li
Yingyu
Y
Guo
Qi
Q
Kawamura
Takayuki
T
Mori
Nobuyoshi
N
Nagasaka
Makoto
M
Ogawa
Mika
M
Ito
Osamu
O
Kurosawa
Hajime
H
Kanazawa
Masayuki
M
Kohzuki
Masahiro
M
D000806:Angiotensin-Converting Enzyme Inhibitors / Q000494:pharmacology*; D000818:Animals; D005080:Exercise Test; D006973:Hypertension / Q000235:genetics / Q000503:physiopathology*; D007773:Lactates / Q000494:pharmacology; D008297:Male; D018482:Muscle, Skeletal / Q000187:drug effects / Q000502:physiology*; D020913:Perindopril / Q000494:pharmacology*; D010805:Physical Conditioning, Animal / Q000502:physiology*; D010809:Physical Fitness / Q000502:physiology; D051381:Rats; D011918:Rats, Inbred SHR
D000806:Angiotensin-Converting Enzyme Inhibitors; D007773:Lactates; D020913:Perindopril