Capillary ultrastructure and mitochondrial volume density in skeletal muscle in relation to reduced exercise capacity of patients with intermittent claudication

TY - JOUR

T1 - Capillary ultrastructure and mitochondrial volume density in skeletal muscle in relation to reduced exercise capacity of patients with intermittent claudication

AU - Baum, Oliver

AU - Torchetti, Eleonora

AU - Malik, Corinna

AU - Høier, Birgitte

AU - Walker, Meegan

AU - Walker, Philip J

AU - Odriozola, Adolfo

AU - Graber, Franziska

AU - Tschanz, Stefan A

AU - Bangsbo, Jens

AU - Hoppeler, Hans H

AU - Askew, Christopher D

AU - Hellsten, Ylva

N1 - CURIS 2016 NEXS 133

PY - 2016/5

Y1 - 2016/5

N2 - Intermittent claudication (IC) is the most commonly reported symptom of peripheral arterial disease (PAD). Impaired limb blood flow is a major casual factor of lower exercise tolerance in PAD but cannot entirely explain it. We hypothesized that IC is associated with structural changes of the capillary-mitochondria interface that could contribute to the reduction of exercise tolerance in IC patients. Capillary and mitochondrial morphometry were performed after light and transmission electron microscopy using vastus lateralis muscle biopsies of 14 IC patients and 10 age-matched controls, and peak power output (PPO) was determined for all participants using an incremental single-leg knee-extension protocol. Capillary density was lower (411 ± 90 mm−2 vs. 506 ± 95 mm−2; P ≤ 0.05) in the biopsies of the IC patients than in those of the controls. The basement membrane (BM) around capillaries was thicker (543 ± 82 nm vs. 423 ± 97 nm; P ≤ 0.01) and the volume density of mitochondria was lower (3.51 ± 0.56% vs. 4.60 ± 0.74%; P ≤ 0.01) in the IC patients than the controls. In the IC patients, a higher proportion of capillaries appeared with collapsed slit-like lumen and/or swollen endothelium. PPO was lower (18.5 ± 9.9 W vs. 33.5 ± 9.4 W; P ≤ 0.01) in the IC patients than the controls. We suggest that several structural alterations in skeletal muscle, either collectively or separately, contribute to the reduction of exercise tolerance in IC patients.

AB - Intermittent claudication (IC) is the most commonly reported symptom of peripheral arterial disease (PAD). Impaired limb blood flow is a major casual factor of lower exercise tolerance in PAD but cannot entirely explain it. We hypothesized that IC is associated with structural changes of the capillary-mitochondria interface that could contribute to the reduction of exercise tolerance in IC patients. Capillary and mitochondrial morphometry were performed after light and transmission electron microscopy using vastus lateralis muscle biopsies of 14 IC patients and 10 age-matched controls, and peak power output (PPO) was determined for all participants using an incremental single-leg knee-extension protocol. Capillary density was lower (411 ± 90 mm−2 vs. 506 ± 95 mm−2; P ≤ 0.05) in the biopsies of the IC patients than in those of the controls. The basement membrane (BM) around capillaries was thicker (543 ± 82 nm vs. 423 ± 97 nm; P ≤ 0.01) and the volume density of mitochondria was lower (3.51 ± 0.56% vs. 4.60 ± 0.74%; P ≤ 0.01) in the IC patients than the controls. In the IC patients, a higher proportion of capillaries appeared with collapsed slit-like lumen and/or swollen endothelium. PPO was lower (18.5 ± 9.9 W vs. 33.5 ± 9.4 W; P ≤ 0.01) in the IC patients than the controls. We suggest that several structural alterations in skeletal muscle, either collectively or separately, contribute to the reduction of exercise tolerance in IC patients.

U2 - 10.1152/ajpregu.00480.2015

DO - 10.1152/ajpregu.00480.2015

M3 - Journal article

C2 - 27009051

SN - 0363-6119

VL - 310

SP - R943-R951

JO - American Journal of Physiology: Regulatory, Integrative and Comparative Physiology

JF - American Journal of Physiology: Regulatory, Integrative and Comparative Physiology

IS - 10

ER -