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Oxygen uptake kinetics: old and recent lessons from experiments on isolated muscle in situ

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Abstract

The various mechanisms responsible for ATP resynthesis include phosphocreatine (PCr) hydrolysis, anaerobic glycolysis and oxidative phosphorylation. Among these, the latter represents the most important mechanism of energy provision. However, oxidative phosphorylation is characterized by a lower maximal power and a slow attainment of a steady state in response to increased metabolic demand. The rate of adjustment of oxidative metabolism during metabolic transitions, which can be evaluated on the basis of the analysis of O2 uptake (V̇O2) kinetics, has implications for exercise tolerance and muscle fatigue. Analysis of V̇O2 kinetics represents a valid tool for the functional evaluation of healthy subjects, athletes and patients. Over the last 35 years experiments conducted on isolated muscle preparations in situ have allowed us to gain insights into several key aspects of skeletal muscle V̇O2 kinetics. Their main limiting factor resides in an intrinsic slowness of intracellular oxidative metabolism when adjusting to augmented metabolic needs. The rate of adjustment of oxidative phosphorylation in mitochondria can be functionally related to PCr hydrolysis occurring in the cytoplasm.

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Acknowledgements

The present paper is dedicated, on the occasion of his 70th birthday, to my “master”, Prof. Paolo Cerretelli, who taught me - and is still teaching me - the job, the beauty of science and the enthusiasm for research. The experiments on the isolated dog gastrocnemius preparation in which the author was involved, as describeded in this paper, were conducted in collaboration with Drs. Michael C. Hogan, Creed M. Stary, Peter D. Wagner (University of California, San Diego), L. Bruce Gladden, Kevin M. Kelley, William G. Aschenbach, Jason J. Hamann, Ron K. Evans, Robin. E Pattillo, John L. Dobson (Auburn University), Paul C. Greenhaff, Dimitru Constantin-Teodosiu (University of Nottingham), and Michele Samaja (University of Milan). The author wishes to thank in particular Dr. Michael C. Hogan and Dr. L. Bruce Gladden for their thoughtful discussions of most of the concepts of the present study. Financial support by NATO CLG 979220 and by Telethon Italy Grant 1161C is acknowledged.

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  1. Dipartimento di Scienze e Tecnologie Biomediche, Università degli Studi di Milano, LITA, Via Fratelli Cervi 93, 20090, Milan, Italy

    Bruno Grassi

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Grassi, B. Oxygen uptake kinetics: old and recent lessons from experiments on isolated muscle in situ. Eur J Appl Physiol 90, 242–249 (2003). https://doi.org/10.1007/s00421-003-0994-0

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