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Combined whole-body vibration, resistance exercise, and sustained vascular occlusion increases PGC-1α and VEGF mRNA abundances

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Abstract

We previously reported that high load resistance exercise with superimposed whole-body vibration and sustained vascular occlusion (vibroX) markedly improves cycling endurance capacity, increases capillary-to-fibre ratio and skeletal muscle oxidative enzyme activity in untrained young women. These findings are intriguing, since increases in oxidative muscle phenotype and endurance capacity are typically induced by endurance but not heavy resistance exercise. Here, we tested the hypothesis that vibroX activates genes associated with mitochondrial biogenesis and angiogenesis. Eight healthy, recreationally resistance-trained young men performed either vibroX or resistance exercise (RES) in a randomised, cross-over design. Needle biopsies (M. vastus lateralis) were obtained at rest and 3 h post-exercise. Changes in relative gene expression levels were assessed by real-time quantitative PCR. After vibroX, vascular endothelial growth factor and peroxisome proliferator-activated receptor-γ coactivator 1α mRNA abundances increased to 2- and 4.4-fold, respectively, but did not significantly change above resting values after RES. Other genes involved in mitochondrial biogenesis were not affected by either exercise modality. While vibroX increased the expression of hexokinase II, xanthine dehydrogenase, and manganese superoxide dismutase mRNA, there were no changes in these transcripts after RES. This study demonstrates that high load resistance exercise with superimposed whole-body vibration and sustained vascular occlusion activates metabolic and angiogenic gene programs, which are usually activated after endurance but not resistance exercise. Thus, targeted modification of high load resistance exercise by vibration and vascular occlusion might represent a novel strategy to induce endurance-type muscle adaptations.

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Acknowledgments

We thank the participants for their effort and time commitment. This work was supported by the University of Zurich research priority program “Integrative Human Physiology” and the Zürcher Kantonalbank (ZKB). The Galileo® vibration plate was kindly provided by Novotec, Pforzheim, Germany.

Conflict of interest

The authors declare no conflict of interests.

Ethical standard

The experimental protocol was approved by the ethics committee of the canton of Zurich, and the study was performed in accordance with the ethical standards laid down in the Declaration of Helsinki for human experimentation.

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Author notes

  1. Flurin Item

    Present address: Division of Pediatric Endocrinology and Diabetology, University Children’s Hospital, Zurich, Switzerland

Authors and Affiliations

  1. Exercise Physiology, Institute of Human Movement Sciences and Sport, ETH Zurich, Winterthurerstrasse 190, 8057, Zurich, Switzerland

    Flurin Item, Sandra Thöny, Urs Boutellier & Marco Toigo

  2. Institute of Physiology and Zurich Center for Integrative Human Physiology (ZIHP), University of Zurich, Zurich, Switzerland

    Flurin Item, Urs Boutellier, Roland H. Wenger & Marco Toigo

  3. Department of Visceral and Transplantation Surgery, University Hospital Zurich, Zurich, Switzerland

    Antonio Nocito & Thomas Bächler

  4. Exersciences Performance Lab AG, Zurich, Switzerland

    Marco Toigo

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  1. Flurin Item
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Correspondence to Marco Toigo.

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Communicated by Martin Flueck.

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Item, F., Nocito, A., Thöny, S. et al. Combined whole-body vibration, resistance exercise, and sustained vascular occlusion increases PGC-1α and VEGF mRNA abundances. Eur J Appl Physiol 113, 1081–1090 (2013). https://doi.org/10.1007/s00421-012-2524-4

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