Abstract
Functional alterations of vascular endothelial cells may be evaluated by analysing differences in effects of endothelium-dependent [acetylcholine (ACh)] and endothelium-independent [sodium nitroprusside (SNP)] vasodilators. We evaluated whether a dynamic approach using spectral analysis of the blood flow signal, resulting from the cutaneous red cell flux and recorded by the technique of laser Doppler flowmetry (LDF), can detect higher endothelial responsiveness in trained versus less trained individuals. There was a 1.6 times higher ACh-induced cutaneous perfusion in athletes than in controls (P<0.05), both when evaluated as a mean value of the LDF signal or as the amplitudes of its spectral components. In the frequency interval from 0.009 to 1.6 Hz, ACh induced a 1.6 times higher average spectral amplitude (P<0.01) in athletes compared with controls. ACh also induced a 1.6 times higher absolute spectral amplitude of the oscillator at around 0.01 Hz (P<0.05) in the athletes compared with the controls, whereas the endothelial oscillation at around 0.01 Hz during basal unstimulated perfusion was 1.5 times higher (P<0.01). There were no significant differences in absolute or relative amplitude during iontophoresis with SNP. These results indicate that athletes have higher endothelial activity than less trained individuals.
This is a preview of subscription content, log in via an institution to check access.
Similar content being viewed by others
References
Andreassen AK, Kvernebo K, Jørgensen B, Simonsen S, Kjekshus J, Gullestad L (1998) Exercise capacity in heart transplant recipients: Relation to impaired endothelium-dependent vasodilatation of the peripheral microcirculation. Am Heart J 136:320–328
Bollinger A, Hoffmann U, Franzeck UK (1991) Evaluation of flux motion in man by the laser Doppler technique. Blood Vessels 28:21–26
Bollinger A, Yanar A, Hoffmann U, Franzeck UK (1993) Is high-frequency fluxmotion due to respiration or to vasomotion activity? In: Messmer K (ed) Progress in applied microcirculation. Karger, Basel, pp. 52–58
Delp MD (1995) Effects of exercise training on endothelium-dependent peripheral vascular responsiveness. Med Sci Sports Exerc 27:1152–1157
Delp MD, McAllister RM, Laughlin MH (1993) Exercise training alters endothelium-dependent vasoreactivity of rat abdominal aorta. J Appl Physiol 73:1354–1363
Drexler H (1997) Endothelial dysfunction: Clinical implications. Prog Cardiovasc Dis 4:287–324
Hoffmann U, Franzeck UK, Geiger M, Bollinger A (1990) Variability of different patterns of skin oscillatory flux in healthy controls and patients with peripheral arterial occlusive disease. Int J Microcirc Clin Exp 12:255–273
Intaglietta M (1989) Vasomotion and flow modulation in the microcirculation. In: Intaglietta M (ed) Progress in applied microcirculation, vol 15. Karger, Basel, pp 1–9
Kastrup J, Bühlow J, Lassen NA (1989) Vasomotion in human skin before and after local heating recorded with laser Doppler flowmetry. A method for induction of vasomotion. Int J Microcirc Clin Exp 8:205–215
Kingwell BA, Tran B, Cameron JD, Jennings GL, Dart AM (1996) Enhanced vasodilation to acetylcholine in athletes is associated with lower plasma cholesterol. Am J Physiol 270:H2008–H2013
Kreidstein ML, Pang CY, Carlsen LN, Xu N (1992) Evidence for endothelium-dependent and endothelium-independent vasodilation in human skin flaps. Can J Physiol Pharmacol 70:1208–1216
Kvernmo HD, Stefanovska A, Kirkebøen KA, Østerud B, Kvernebo K (1998a) Enhanced endothelium-dependent vasodilatation in human skin vasculature induced by physical conditioning. Eur J Appl Physiol 79:30–39
Kvernmo HD, Stefanovska A, Kirkebøen KA, Kvernebo K (1998b) Spectral analysis of the laser Doppler perfusion signal in human skin before and after exercise. Microvasc Res 56:173–182
Kvernmo HD, Stefanovska A, Kirkebøen KA, Kvernebo K (1999) Oscillations in the cutaneous blood flow signal modified by endothelium-dependent and endothelium-independent vasodilators. Microvasc Res 57:298–309
Meyer JU, Borgström P, Lindblom L, Intaglietta M (1988) Vasomotion patterns in skeletal muscle arterioles during changes in arterial pressure. Microvasc Res 35:193–203
Morlet J (1983) Sampling theory and wave propagation. In: Chen CH (ed) NATO ASI series, vol I, Issues in acoustic signal/image processing and recognition. Springer, Berlin Heidelberg New York
Morris SJ, Shore AC (1996) Skin blood flow responses to the iontophoresis of acetylcholine and sodium nitroprusside in man: possible mechanisms. J Physiol (Lond) 496:531–542
Mück-Weymann ME, Albrecht H-P, Hager D, Hiller D, Hornstein OP, Bauer RD (1996) Respiratory-dependent laser-Doppler flux motion in different skin areas and its meaning to autonomic nervous control of the vessels of the skin. Microvasc Res 52:69–78
Müller PH, Keller R, Imhof P (1987) Laser Doppler flowmetry, a reliable technique for measuring pharmacologically induced changes in cutaneous blood flow. Methods Find Exp Clin Pharmacol 9:409–420
Nilsson GE, Tenland T, Öberg PÅ (1980) Evaluation of a laser Doppler flowmeter for measurement of tissue blood flow. IEEE Trans Biomed Eng 27:597–604
Rapoport RM, Draznin MB, Murad F (1983) Endothelium-dependent relaxation in rat aorta may be mediated through cyclic GMP-dependent protein phosphorylation. Nature 306:174–176
Richards NT, Poston L, Hilton L (1990) Cyclosporin A inhibits endothelium-dependent prostanoid-induced relaxation in human subcutaneous resistance vessels. J Hypertens 3:159–163
Rubanyi GM (1993) The role of endothelium in cardiovascular homeostasis and diseases. J Pharmacol 22 [Suppl 4]:S1–S4
Salerud EG, Tenland T, Nilsson GE, Öberg PÅ (1983) Rhythmical variations in human skin blood flow. Int J Microcirc Clin Exp 2:91–102
Schmid-Schönbein H, Ziege S, Rütten W, Heidtmann H (1992) Active and passive modulations of cutaneous red cell flux as measured by laser Doppler anemometry. Vasa [Suppl] 34:38–47
Stefanovska A (1992) Self-organization of biological systems influenced by electrical current. Thesis, Faculty of Electrical Engineering, University of Ljubljana, Slovenia
Stefanovska A, Kroselj P (1997) Correlation integral and frequency analysis of cardiovascular functions. Open Sys Inform Dyn 4:457–478
Vallance P, Collier J, Moncada S (1989) Effects of endothelium-derived nitric oxide on peripheral arteriolar tone in man. Lancet 2:997–1000
Westerman RA, Widdop RE, Hannaford A, Low A, Roberts RGD, Kent P, Sideris K, Yip T, Hales JRS, Stephens FRN (1988) Laser Doppler velocimetry in the measurement of neurovascular function. Aust Phys Eng Sci Med 11:53–65
Acknowledgements
We acknowledge Moor Instruments, UK, for providing the devices used in this study, with a special word of thanks to Rodney Gush. We are also grateful to Maja Bracic for technical assistance. A.S. was supported by the Slovenian Ministry of Education, Science and Sport. H.D.K. was supported by the Norwegian Research Council for Science and Humanities.
Author information
Authors and Affiliations
Corresponding author
Rights and permissions
About this article
Cite this article
Kvernmo, H.D., Stefanovska, A. & Kirkebøen, K.A. Enhanced endothelial activity reflected in cutaneous blood flow oscillations of athletes. Eur J Appl Physiol 90, 16–22 (2003). https://doi.org/10.1007/s00421-003-0867-6
Accepted:
Published:
Issue Date:
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s00421-003-0867-6