Abstract
Purpose
We examined changes in plasma creatine kinase (CK) activity, hydroxyproline and cell-free DNA (cfDNA) concentrations in relation to changes in maximum voluntary isometric contraction (MVIC) torque and delayed-onset muscle soreness (DOMS) following a session of volume-matched higher- (HI) versus lower-intensity (LI) eccentric cycling exercise.
Methods
Healthy young men performed either 5 × 1-min HI at 20% of peak power output (n = 11) or 5 × 4-min LI eccentric cycling at 5% of peak power output (n = 9). Changes in knee extensor MVIC torque, DOMS, plasma CK activity, and hydroxyproline and cfDNA concentrations before, immediately after, and 24–72 h post-exercise were compared between groups.
Results
Plasma CK activity increased post-exercise (141 ± 73.5%) and MVIC torque decreased from immediately (13.3 ± 7.8%) to 48 h (6.7 ± 13.5%) post-exercise (P < 0.05), without significant differences between groups. DOMS was greater after HI (peak: 4.5 ± 3.0 on a 10-point scale) than LI (1.2 ± 1.0). Hydroxyproline concentration increased 40–53% at 24–72 h after both LI and HI (P < 0.05). cfDNA concentration increased immediately after HI only (2.3 ± 0.9-fold, P < 0.001), with a significant difference between groups (P = 0.002). Lack of detectable methylated HOXD4 indicated that the cfDNA was not derived from skeletal muscle. No significant correlations were evident between the magnitude of change in the measures, but the cfDNA increase immediately post-exercise was correlated with the maximal change in heart rate during exercise (r = 0.513, P = 0.025).
Conclusion
Changes in plasma hydroxyproline and cfDNA concentrations were not associated with muscle fiber damage, but the increased hydroxyproline in both groups suggests increased collagen turnover. cfDNA may be a useful metabolic-intensity exercise marker.
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Abbreviations
- cfDNA:
-
Cell-free DNA
- CK:
-
Creatine kinase
- ddPCR:
-
Droplet digital PCR
- DOMS:
-
Delayed-onset muscle soreness
- HI:
-
Higher intensity
- HR:
-
Heart rate
- Hyp:
-
Hydroxyproline
- LI:
-
Lower intensity
- MVIC:
-
Maximal voluntary isometric contraction
- PPO:
-
Peak power output
- RPE:
-
Rate of perceived effort
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Acknowledgements
The authors thank all the study participants for their assistance with the study. We are thankful to Dr Gina Ravenscroft and Dr Hayley Goullee for providing the primary human myoblast line used as positive control.
Funding
This study was funded by an Intra-School Collaboration Seed Fund from the School of Medical and Health Sciences at Edith Cowan University. GM has received financial support through a scholarship from the Australian Government Research Training Program. EG is supported by fellowships from Cancer Council Western Australia (CCWA).
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GM, AB and KN conceived and designed the study, and GM and LC conducted the experiments. GM collected, and GM, OB, WP, LC, MM, TK, and EG analyzed the data. GM drafted the manuscript with AB and KN. All authors read, edited and approved the manuscript.
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Communicated by Michalis G Nikolaidis.
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Mavropalias, G., Calapre, L., Morici, M. et al. Changes in plasma hydroxyproline and plasma cell-free DNA concentrations after higher- versus lower-intensity eccentric cycling. Eur J Appl Physiol 121, 1087–1097 (2021). https://doi.org/10.1007/s00421-020-04593-1
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s00421-020-04593-1