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Muscle health and performance in monozygotic twins with 30 years of discordant exercise habits

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Abstract

Introduction

Physical health and function depend upon both genetic inheritance and environmental factors (e.g., exercise training).

Purpose

To enhance the understanding of heritability/adaptability, we explored the skeletal muscle health and physiological performance of monozygotic (MZ) twins with > 30 years of chronic endurance training vs. no specific/consistent exercise.

Methods

One pair of male MZ twins (age = 52 years; Trained Twin, TT; Untrained Twin, UT) underwent analyses of: (1) anthropometric characteristics and blood profiles, (2) markers of cardiovascular and pulmonary health, and (3) skeletal muscle size, strength, and power and molecular markers of muscle health.

Results

This case study represents the most comprehensive physiological comparison of MZ twins with this length and magnitude of differing exercise history. TT exhibited: (1) lower body mass, body fat%, resting heart rate, blood pressure, cholesterol, triglycerides, and plasma glucose, (2) greater relative cycling power, anaerobic endurance, and aerobic capacity (VO2max), but lower muscle size/strength and poorer muscle quality, (3) more MHC I (slow-twitch) and fewer MHC IIa (fast-twitch) fibers, (4) greater AMPK protein expression, and (5) greater PAX7, IGF1Ec, IGF1Ea, and FN14 mRNA expression than UT.

Conclusions

Several measured differences are the largest reported between MZ twins (TT expressed 55% more MHC I fibers, 12.4 ml/kg/min greater VO2max, and 8.6% lower body fat% vs. UT). These data collectively (a) support utilizing chronic endurance training to improve body composition and cardiovascular health and (b) suggest the cardiovascular and skeletal muscle systems exhibit greater plasticity than previously thought, further highlighting the importance of studying MZ twins with large (long-term) differences in exposomes.

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Abbreviations

%BF:

Body fat percentage

AMPK:

5′ AMP-activated protein kinase

B2M:

β-2-microglobulin

BMC:

Bone mineral content

BMD:

Bone mineral density

CHOL:

Total cholesterol

CS:

Citrate synthase

CSA:

Muscular cross-sectional area

DBP:

Diastolic blood pressure

DXA:

Dual-energy X-ray absorptiometry

ECL:

Enhanced chemiluminescent

EI:

Echo intensity

FEV1 :

Forced expiatory volume in the first second

FM:

Fat mass

FVC:

Forced vital capacity

HbA1c:

Glycosylated hemoglobin

HDL:

High-density lipoprotein

IGF1Ea:

Insulin-like growth factor a

IGF1Ec:

Mechano-growth factor

kcal:

Kilocalorie

LDL:

Low-density lipoprotein

LM:

Lean mass

MHC:

Myosin heavy chain

MSTN:

Myostatin

MT:

Muscle thickness

MVIC:

Maximal voluntary isometric contraction

MyHC:

Myosin heavy chain gene

MZ:

Monozygotic

NOS3:

Endothelial nitric oxide synthase

PP:

Peak power

PPIA:

Cyclophilin

QRT-PCR:

Quantitative reverse transcriptase polymerase chain reaction

RER:

Respiratory exchange ratio

RHR:

Resting heart rate

RPE:

Rating of perceived exertion

RPM:

Rotations per minute

SBP:

Systolic blood pressure

TFAM:

Transcription factor A of the mitochondria

TNF:

Tumor necrosis factor-α

TRIG:

Triglycerides

TT:

Trained twin

UT:

Untrained twin

VAT:

Visceral adipose tissue

VEGFA:

Vascular endothelial growth factor

VL:

Vastus lateralis

VO2max:

Maximal aerobic capacity

WAnT:

Wingate anaerobic test

WEEE:

Weekly estimated energy expenditure

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Acknowledgements

The authors would like to thank Kathryn McLeland, Cassio Ruas, Nathan Serrano, Kara Lazauskas, and Colleen Gulick for their assistance with this project. This research was funded by a California State University Development of Research and Creativity (CSU-DRC) Grant to J.R. Bagley.

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Author notes

  1. Katherine E. Bathgate and James R. Bagley contributed equally to this work.

Authors and Affiliations

  1. Biochemistry and Molecular Exercise Physiology Laboratory, Center for Sport Performance, Department of Kinesiology, California State University, Fullerton, 800 North State College Blvd., KHS-121, Fullerton, CA, 92834, USA

    Katherine E. Bathgate, Irene S. Tobias, Lee E. Brown, Jared W. Coburn, Jose A. Arevalo & Andrew J. Galpin

  2. Muscle Physiology Laboratory, Department of Kinesiology, San Francisco State University, 1600 Holloway Ave. GYM 101, San Francisco, CA, 94132, USA

    James R. Bagley

  3. Human Performance Research Laboratory, California State Polytechnic University, 3801 W. Temple Ave. 66-213, Pomona, CA, 91768, USA

    Edward Jo

  4. Department of Biological Sciences, California State Polytechnic University, 3801 W. Temple Ave., Pomona, CA, 91768, USA

    Robert J. Talmadge

  5. Department of Psychology, California State University, Fullerton, 800 North State College Blvd., Fullerton, CA, 92834, USA

    Nancy L. Segal

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  1. Katherine E. Bathgate
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Contributions

JRB and AJG conceived and designed this work. KEB, JRB, EJ, RJT, IST, JAA, and AJG performed the experiments. All authors collected and analyzed the data. KEB, JRB, LEB, JWC, NLS, and AJG interpreted the results of experiments. KEB, AJG, and JRB drafted the manuscript. All authors read and approved the manuscript.

Corresponding author

Correspondence to Andrew J. Galpin.

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Conflict of interest

The authors declared no conflicts of interest.

Ethical standards

All procedures performed in this study were in accordance with the ethical standards of the University’s Institutional Review Board for Human Subjects and with the 1964 Declaration of Helsinki and its later amendments.

Informed consent

Informed consent was obtained from all individual participants included in the study.

Additional information

Communicated by William J. Kraemer.

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Bathgate, K.E., Bagley, J.R., Jo, E. et al. Muscle health and performance in monozygotic twins with 30 years of discordant exercise habits. Eur J Appl Physiol 118, 2097–2110 (2018). https://doi.org/10.1007/s00421-018-3943-7

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