Vitamin C and E treatment blunts sprint interval training–induced changes in inflammatory mediator-, calcium-, and mitochondria-related signaling in recreationally active elderly humans

Wyckelsma, VL, Venckunas, T, Brazaitis, M, Gastaldello, S, Snieckus, A, Eimantas, N, Baranauskiene, N, Subocius, A, Skurvydas, A, Pääsuke, M, Gapeyeva, H, Kaasik, P, Pääsuke, R, Jürimäe, J, Graf, BA, Kayser, B, Place, N, Andersson, DC, Kamandulis, S and Westerblad, H (2020) Vitamin C and E treatment blunts sprint interval training–induced changes in inflammatory mediator-, calcium-, and mitochondria-related signaling in recreationally active elderly humans. Antioxidants, 9 (9). pp. 1-20.

Preview

Published Version Available under License Creative Commons Attribution. Download (3MB) | Preview

Abstract

Sprint interval training (SIT) has emerged as a time-efficient training regimen for young individuals. Here, we studied whether SIT is effective also in elderly individuals and whether the training response was affected by treatment with the antioxidants vitamin C and E. Recreationally active elderly (mean age 65) men received either vitamin C (1 g/day) and vitamin E (235 mg/day) or placebo. Training consisted of nine SIT sessions (three sessions/week for three weeks of 4–6 repetitions of 30-s all-out cycling sprints) interposed by 4 min rest. Vastus lateralis muscle biopsies were taken before, 1 h after, and 24 h after the first and last SIT sessions. At the end of the three weeks of training, SIT-induced changes in relative mRNA expression of reactive oxygen/nitrogen species (ROS)and mitochondria-related proteins, inflammatory mediators, and the sarcoplasmic reticulum Ca2+ channel, the ryanodine receptor 1 (RyR1), were blunted in the vitamin treated group. Western blots frequently showed a major (>50%) decrease in the full-length expression of RyR1 24 h after SIT sessions; in the trained state, vitamin treatment seemed to provide protection against this severe RyR1 modification. Power at exhaustion during an incremental cycling test was increased by ~5% at the end of the training period, whereas maximal oxygen uptake remained unchanged; vitamin treatment did not affect these measures. In conclusion, treatment with the antioxidants vitamin C and E blunts SIT-induced cellular signaling in skeletal muscle of elderly individuals, while the present training regimen was too short or too intense for the changes in signaling to be translated into a clear-cut change in physical performance.