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Early adjustments in mitochondrial structure and function in skeletal muscle to high altitude: design and rationale of the first study from the Kilimanjaro Biobank

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Abstract

The physiological acclimatisation and adaptation processes in skeletal muscle at high altitude are of high medical and social relevance not only to understand limitations in physical performance at high altitude but also to understand the consequences of hypoxemia and tissue hypoxia in critically ill patients. Of particular importance in these processes are the alterations in content and function of mitochondria and myoglobin. The majority of studies on oxygen delivery to the tissues and utilisation by the cellular metabolism at high altitude were performed after prolonged stay at high altitude and in altitude-adapted highlanders. However, these studies do not provide insight in the sequence of events during the physiological acclimatisation and adaptation processes. Therefore, it is important to identify the early alterations in structure and function of the major determinants of the oxygen transport via myoglobin and oxygen utilisation by the mitochondria in skeletal muscle at high altitude. To achieve this goal, it is of interest to collect, analyse and compare quadriceps muscle biopsies and venous blood samples of climbers, guides and porters before and after climbing Mount Kilimanjaro and in participants of the Kilimanjaro Marathon before and after the run. The samples will be carefully documented and stored in the Kilimanjaro Biobank and will be made available to other research groups.

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Acknowledgements

I hereby thank Professor Cris Dos Remedios for his heroic efforts in starting, expanding and maintaining the Sydney Heart Bank and providing the group in Amsterdam with an incredible amount of cardiac tissue samples over a period of more than two decades. He and his team were pivotal in the design, conduction and successful completion of our joint research projects aimed to resolve the changes in contractile protein expression and function in various forms of heart failure. Following his footsteps and vision, I hope that the Kilimanjaro Biobank will grow and flourish.

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  1. Department of Physiology, Kilimanjaro Christian Medical University College, PO Box 2240, Moshi, Tanzania

    G. J. M. Stienen

  2. Department of Physiology, Amsterdam UMC, Amsterdam Cardiovascular Sciences, Vrije Universiteit, Amsterdam, the Netherlands

    G. J. M. Stienen

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Correspondence to G. J. M. Stienen.

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Stienen, G.J.M. Early adjustments in mitochondrial structure and function in skeletal muscle to high altitude: design and rationale of the first study from the Kilimanjaro Biobank. Biophys Rev 12, 793–798 (2020). https://doi.org/10.1007/s12551-020-00710-8

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