Stimulation of myofibrillar protein synthesis in hindlimb suspended rats by resistance exercise and growth hormone.

The objective of this study was to determine the ability of a single bout of resistance exercise alone or in combination with recombinant human growth hormone (rhGH) to stimulate myofibrillar protein synthesis (Ks) in hindlimb suspended (HLS) adult female rats. Plantar flexor muscles were stimulated with resistance exercise, consisting of 10 repetitions of ladder climbing on a 1 m grid (85 degrees), carrying an additional 50% of their body weight attached to their tails. Saline or rhGH (1 mg/kg) was administered 30' prior to exercise, and Ks was determined with a constant infusion of 3H-Leucine at 15', 60', 180', and 360' following exercise. Three days of HLS depressed Ks approximately 65% and 30-40% in the soleus and gastrocnemius muscles, respectively (p < or = 0.05). Exercise increased soleus Ks in saline-treated rats 149% 60' following exercise (p < or = 0.05), decaying to that of non-exercised animals during the next 5 hours. Relative to suspended, non-exercised rats rhGH+exercise increased soleus Ks 84%, 108%, and 72% at 15', 60' and 360' following exercise (p < or = 0.05). Gastrocnemius Ks was not significantly increased by exercise or the combination of rhGH and exercise up to 360' post-exercise. Results from this study indicate that resistance exercise stimulated Ks 60' post-exercise in the soleus of HLS rats, with no apparent effect of rhGH to enhance or prolong exercise-induced stimulation. Results suggests that exercise frequency may be important to maintenance of the slow-twitch soleus during non-weightbearing, but that the ability of resistance exercise to maintain myofibrillar protein content in the gastrocnemius of hindlimb suspended rats cannot be explained by acute stimulation of synthesis.