title: Electrical pulse stimulation of cultured skeletal muscle cells as a model for in vitro exercise - possibilities and limitations.
abstract: The beneficial health-related effects of exercise are well recognized, and numerous studies have investigated underlying mechanism using various in vivo and in vitro models. Although electrical pulse stimulation (EPS) for the induction of muscle contraction has been used for quite some time, its application on cultured skeletal muscle cells of animal or human origin as a model of in vitro exercise is a more recent development. In this review, we compare in vivo exercise and in vitro EPS with regard to effects on signalling, expression level and metabolism. We provide a comprehensive overview of different EPS protocols and their applications, discuss technical aspects of this model including critical controls and the importance of a proper maintenance procedure and finally discuss the limitations of the EPS model.
authors.affiliation: Department of Pharmaceutical Biosciences, School of Pharmacy, University of Oslo, Oslo, Norway.
authors.forename: N
authors.initials: N
authors.lastname: Nikolić
authors.affiliation: Paul-Langerhans-Group for Integrative Physiology, German Diabetes Center, Düsseldorf, Germany.
authors.forename: S W
authors.initials: SW
authors.lastname: Görgens
authors.affiliation: Department of Pharmaceutical Biosciences, School of Pharmacy, University of Oslo, Oslo, Norway.|Department of Pharmacology, Institute of Clinical Medicine, Faculty of Medicine, University of Oslo, Oslo, Norway.
authors.forename: G H
authors.initials: GH
authors.lastname: Thoresen
authors.affiliation: Department of Life Sciences and Health, Oslo and Akershus University College of Applied Sciences, Oslo, Norway.
authors.forename: V
authors.initials: V
authors.lastname: Aas
authors.affiliation: Paul-Langerhans-Group for Integrative Physiology, German Diabetes Center, Düsseldorf, Germany.|German Center for Diabetes Research (DZD e.V.), Düsseldorf, Germany.
authors.forename: J
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Eckel
authors.affiliation: Department of Nutrition, Institute for Basic Medical Sciences, Faculty of Medicine, University of Oslo, Oslo, Norway.
authors.forename: K
authors.initials: K
authors.lastname: Eckardt
mesh_terms: D000818:Animals; D002478:Cells, Cultured; D004558:Electric Stimulation; D015444:Exercise / Q000502:physiology*; D006801:Humans; D009119:Muscle Contraction; D018482:Muscle, Skeletal / Q000166:cytology* / Q000502:physiology; D023822:Tissue Engineering
keywords: electrical pulse stimulation; exercise; in vitro model; skeletal muscle cells