Acta Physiologica

AIM: Prolonged high-fat diet (HFD) consumption has been shown to impair cognition and depression. The combined effects of HFD and lipopolysaccharide (LPS) administration on those outcomes have never been thoroughly investigated. This study investigated the effects of LPS, HFD consumption, and a combination of both conditions on microglial dysfunction, microglial morphological alterations, synaptic loss, cognitive dysfunction, and depressive-like behaviors. METHODS: Sixty-four male Wistar rats were fed either a normal diet (ND) or HFD for 12 weeks, followed by single dose-subcutaneous injection of either vehicle or LPS...

Over the past years, researchers increased awareness of the connection of muscle tissue to the rest of the human body and of the possibilities to tweak the muscles' metabolism in order to gain positive effects on whole body metabolism, energy balance, and immune system. Physiotherapists and doctors aim to find practical exercise guidelines for patients to follow for ideal treatment. To do so, much research is happening to understand the complexity of muscle-body balance. This article reviews the most recent research in this topic that was published by ActaPhysiologica...

AIMS: This study aimed to characterize the properties of locus coeruleus (LC) noradrenergic neurons in male and female mice. We also sought to investigate sex-specific differences in membrane properties, action potential generation, and protein expression profiles to understand the mechanisms underlying neuronal excitability variations. METHODS: Utilizing a genetic mouse model by crossing Dbhcre knock-in mice with tdTomato Ai14 transgenic mice, LC neurons were identified using fluorescence microscopy...

AIM: The influence on acute skeletal muscle transcriptomics of neuromuscular electrical stimulation (NMES), as compared to established exercises, is poorly understood. We aimed to investigate the effects on global mRNA-expression in the quadriceps muscle early after a single NMES-session, compared to the effects of voluntary knee extension exercise (EX), and to explore the discomfort level. METHODS: Global vastus lateralis muscle gene expression was assessed (RNA-sequencing) in 30 healthy participants, before and 3 h after a 30-min session of NMES and/or EX...

AIM: Exercise intolerance is the central symptom in patients with heart failure with preserved ejection fraction. In the present study, we investigated the adrenergic reserve both in vivo and in cardiomyocytes of a murine cardiometabolic HFpEF model. METHODS: 12-week-old male C57BL/6J mice were fed regular chow (control) or a high-fat diet and L-NAME (HFpEF) for 15 weeks. At 27 weeks, we performed (stress) echocardiography and exercise testing and measured the adrenergic reserve and its modulation by nitric oxide and reactive oxygen species in left ventricular cardiomyocytes...

AIM: Mitochondrial dysfunction, a characteristic pathological feature of renal Ischemic/reperfusion injury (I/RI), predisposes tubular epithelial cells to maintain an inflammatory microenvironment, however, the exact mechanisms through which mitochondrial dysfunction modulates the induction of tubular injury remains incompletely understood. METHODS: ESI-QTRAP-MS/MS approach was used to characterize the targeted metabolic profiling of kidney with I/RI. Tubule injury, mitochondrial dysfunction, and fumarate level were evaluated using qPCR, transmission electron microscopy, ELISA, and immunohistochemistry...

AIM: To investigate effects of hormone replacement therapy in postmenopausal women on factors associated with metabolic flexibility related to whole-body parameters including fat oxidation, resting energy expenditure, body composition and plasma concentrations of fatty acids, glucose, insulin, cortisol, and lipids, and for the mitochondrial level, including mitochondrial content, respiratory capacity, efficiency, and hydrogen peroxide emission. METHODS: 22 postmenopausal women were included...

AIM: Sarcopenia, the aging-related loss of muscle mass and function, is a debilitating process negatively impacting the quality of life of affected individuals. Although the mechanisms underlying sarcopenia are incompletely understood, impairments in mitochondrial dynamics, including mitochondrial fusion, have been proposed as a contributing factor. However, the potential of upregulating mitochondrial fusion proteins to alleviate the effects of aging on skeletal muscles remains unexplored...

AIM: Protein disulfide isomerases (PDIs) are involved in platelet aggregation and intravascular thrombosis, but their role in regulating endothelial function is unclear. Here, we characterized the involvement of vascular PDIA1 in angiotensin II (Ang II)-induced endothelial dysfunction in mice. METHODS: Endothelial dysfunction was induced in C57BL/6JCmd male mice via Ang II subcutaneous infusion, and PDIA1 was inhibited with bepristat. Endothelial function was assessed in vivo with magnetic resonance imaging and ex vivo with a myography, while arterial stiffness was measured as pulse wave velocity...

AIM: Chronic heart failure (CHF) is often linked to liver malfunction and systemic endothelial dysfunction. However, whether cardio-hepatic interactions in heart failure involve dysfunction of liver sinusoidal endothelial cells (LSECs) is not known. Here we characterize LSECs phenotype in early and end stages of chronic heart failure in a murine model. METHODS: Right ventricle (RV) function, features of congestive hepatopathy, and the phenotype of primary LSECs were characterized in Tgαq*44 mice, with cardiomyocyte-specific overexpression of the Gαq protein, at the age of 4- and 12-month representative for early and end-stage phases of CHF, respectively...

No abstract text is available yet for this article.

AIM: Force expression is characterized by an interplay of biological and molecular determinants that are expected to differentiate males and females in terms of maximal performance. These include muscle characteristics (muscle size, fiber type, contractility), neuromuscular regulation (central and peripheral factors of force expression), and individual genetic factors (miRNAs and gene/protein expression). This research aims to comprehensively assess these physiological variables and their role as determinants of maximal force difference between sexes...

AIM: Aortic dissection (AD) is a disease with rapid onset but with no effective therapeutic drugs yet. Previous studies have suggested that glucose metabolism plays a critical role in the progression of AD. Transketolase (TKT) is an essential bridge between glycolysis and the pentose phosphate pathway. However, its role in the development of AD has not yet been elucidated. In this study, we aimed to explore the role of TKT in AD. METHODS: We collected AD patients' aortic tissues and used high-throughput proteome sequencing to analyze the main factors influencing AD development...

AIM: In neuroendocrine cells, large dense-core vesicles (LDCVs) undergo highly regulated pre-fusion processes before releasing hormones via membrane fusion. Significant heterogeneity has been found for LDCV population based on the dynamics of membrane fusion. However, how the pre-fusion status impacts the heterogeneity of LDCVs still remains unclear. Hence, we explored pre-fusion determinants of heterogeneous membrane fusion procedure of LDCV subpopulations. METHODS: We assessed the pre-fusion motion of two LDCV subpopulations with distinct membrane fusion dynamics individually, using total internal reflection fluorescence microscopy...

No abstract text is available yet for this article.

AIM: This study aimed to investigate the effects of caffeine on pathways associated with mitochondrial quality control and mitochondrial capacity during skeletal muscle regeneration, focusing on the role of Parkin, a key protein involved in mitophagy. METHODS: We used in vitro C2C12 myoblast during differentiation with and without caffeine in the medium, and we evaluated several markers of mitochondrial quality control pathways and myotube growth. In vivo experiments, we used C57BL/6J (WT) and Parkintm 1Shn lineage (Parkin-/- ) mice and injured tibial anterior muscle...

AIM: Drug-resistant epilepsy (DRE) is a neurological disorder characterized by uncontrolled seizures. It affects between 10%-40% of the patients with epilepsy worldwide. Drug-resistant patients have been reported to have a different microbiota composition compared to drug-sensitive patients and healthy controls. Importantly, fecal microbiota transplantations (FMTs), probiotic and dietary interventions have been shown to be able to reduce seizure frequency and improve the quality of life in drug-resistant patients...

AIM: Sodium glucose co-transporter-2 (SGLT2) inhibitors stimulate renal excretion of sodium and glucose and exert renal protective effects in patients with (non-)diabetic chronic kidney disease (CKD) and may as well protect against acute kidney injury (AKI). The mechanism behind this kidney protective effect remains unclear. Juxtaglomerular cells of renin lineage (CoRL) have been demonstrated to function as progenitors for multiple adult glomerular cell types in kidney disease. This study assesses the impact of SGLT2 inhibition on the repopulation of glomerular cells by CoRL and examines their phenotypic commitment...

Sarcopenia lowers the quality-of-life for millions of people across the world, as accelerated loss of skeletal muscle mass and function contributes to both age- and disease-related frailty. Physical activity remains the only proven therapy for sarcopenia to date, but alternatives are much sought after to manage this progressive muscle disorder in individuals who are unable to exercise. Mitochondria have been widely implicated in the etiology of sarcopenia and are increasingly suggested as attractive therapeutic targets to help restore the perturbed balance between protein synthesis and breakdown that underpins skeletal muscle atrophy...

AIM: Altered mitochondrial function across various tissues is a key determinant of spaceflight-induced physical deconditioning. In comparison to tissue biopsies, blood cell bioenergetics holds promise as a systemic and more readily accessible biomarker, which was evaluated during head-down tilt bed rest (HDTBR), an established ground-based analog for spaceflight-induced physiological changes in humans. More specifically, this study explored the effects of HDTBR and an exercise countermeasure on mitochondrial respiration in peripheral blood mononuclear cells (PBMCs)...