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Modern Tools of Biophysics pp 109–117Cite as

Hemoglobin and Myoglobin Contribution to the NIRS Signal in Skeletal Muscle

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Part of the book series: Handbook of Modern Biophysics ((HBBT,volume 5))

Abstract

Oxidative ATP generation plays a central role in muscle contraction and implicates an essential role for oxygen supply and flux during exercise. Of the different methods to track the oxygen balance in skeletal muscle, optical methods present a noninvasive and simple approach. In 1937, Millikan introduced an optical method to assess oxygen levels in cat soleus muscle at rest and in response to electrical stimulation [Proc R Soc Lond B: Biol Sci 123:218–241, 1937]. He used a point light source (a pointolite lamp) to introduce a beam of visible light through a heat filter and a condensing lens onto a muscle holder, where it made a right-angle reflection from a totally reflecting prism. The beam then passed through the muscle and onto a photocell colorimeter, which recorded the characteristic absorbance signals of oxygenated hemoglobin (Hb) and myoglobin (Mb). Given the in vitro binding constants of O2 to Mb and Hb, a calculation leads to values for the partial pressure of O2. In contrast to the standard gas-exchange technique at that time, which suffered from time delays, the optical method could follow in real time Mb and Hb saturation [Proc R Soc Lond B: Biol Sci 123:218–241, 1937].

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Acknowledgments

We gratefully acknowledge support from France Berkeley Fund (D.B., T.J.), BWF Collaborative Research Travel Grant (D.B., T.J.).

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Aix-Marseille University, CNRS, CRMBM, Faculté de Médecine, 27 Boulevard Jean Moulin, Marseille cedex 5, 13385, France

    Benjamin Chatel M.Sc. & David Bendahan Ph.D.

  2. Department of Biochemistry and Molecular Medicine, University of California, Davis, Davis, CA, 95616, USA

    Thomas Jue Ph.D.

Authors
  1. Benjamin Chatel M.Sc.
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  2. David Bendahan Ph.D.
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  3. Thomas Jue Ph.D.
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Corresponding author

Correspondence to Thomas Jue Ph.D. .

Editor information

Editors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Biochemistry and Molecular Medicine, University of California, Davis, Davis, California, USA

    Thomas Jue

Appendices

Problems

  1. 6.1.

    Mild muscle activity has been associated with pH changes, which reflects an increase in lactate concentration, suggesting that muscle produces lactate even during low-intensity exercises and under well-oxygenated condition. Discuss the underlying mechanisms and the implications in associating lactate production with a hypoxia or ischemia threshold.

  2. 6.2.

    If Mb has a dominant contribution to the NIRS signal, the sudden deoxygenation of Mb (as observed by NIRS) at the initiation of muscle contraction implies a rapid rise in oxygen demand or consumption. What then is the role of glycogenolysis? Does compartmentalizing rigidly energy metabolism into an independent nonoxidative vs. oxidative pathway have any physiological validity?

Solutions

  1. 6.1.

    Brooks, G.A.: Lactate production under fully aerobic conditions: the lactate shuttle during rest and exercise. Fed. Proc. 45(13), 2924–2929 (1986).

    Brooks, G.A.: Intra- and extra-cellular lactate shuttles. Med. Sci. Sports Exerc. 32(4), 790–799 (2000)

    Brooks, G.A.: Cell-cell and intracellular lactate shuttles. J. Physiol. 587(Pt 23), 5591–5600 (2009)

  2. 6.2.

    Chung, Y., et al.: Control of respiration and bioenergetics during muscle contraction. Am. J. Physiol. Cell. Physiol. 288(3), C730–C738 (2005)

Further Study

  • Ferrari, M., Muthalib, M., Quaresima, V.: The use of near-infrared spectroscopy in understanding skeletal muscle physiology: recent developments. Philos. Trans. R. Soc. A 369, 1–14 (2011)

  • Gros, G., Wittenberg, B.A., Jue, T.: Myogloblin’s old and new clothes: from molecular structure to function in living cells. J. Exp. Biol. 213, 2713–2725 (2010)

  • Masuda, K., Jue, T.: Application of near infrared spectroscopy in biomedicine. In: Jue, T. (series editor) Handbook of Modern Biophysics, vol. 4. Humana Press, New York (2013)

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Chatel, B., Bendahan, D., Jue, T. (2017). Hemoglobin and Myoglobin Contribution to the NIRS Signal in Skeletal Muscle. In: Jue, T. (eds) Modern Tools of Biophysics. Handbook of Modern Biophysics, vol 5. Springer, New York, NY. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-1-4939-6713-1_6

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