High-intensity high-volume swimming induces more robust signaling through PGC-1α and AMPK activation than sprint interval swimming in m. triceps brachii

We aimed to test whether high-intensity high-volume training (HIHVT) swimming would induce more robust signaling than sprint interval training (SIT) swimming within the m. triceps brachii due to lower metabolic and oxidation. Nine well-trained swimmers performed the two training procedures on separate randomized days. Muscle biopsies from m. triceps brachii and blood samples were collected at three different time points: a) before the intervention (pre), b) immediately after the swimming procedures (post) and c) after 3 h of rest (3 h). Hydroperoxides, creatine kinase (CK), and lactate dehydrogenase (LDH) were quantified from blood samples, and peroxisome proliferator-activated receptor γ coactivator 1α (PGC-1α) and the AMPKpTHR172/AMPK ratio were quantified by Western blot analysis. PGC-1α, sirtuin 3 (SIRT3), superoxide-dismutase 2 (SOD2), and vascular endothelial growth factor (VEGF) mRNA levels were also quantified. SIT induced a higher release of LDH (p < 0.01 at all time points) and CK (p < 0.01 at post) than HIHVT, but neither SIT nor HIHVT altered systemic hydroperoxides. Additionally, neither SIRT3 nor SOD2 mRNA levels increased, while PGC-1α transcription increased at 3 h after SIT (p < 0.01) and after HIHVT (p < 0.001). However, PGC-1α protein was higher after HIHVT than after SIT (p < 0.05). Moreover, the AMPKpTHR172/AMPK ratio increased at post after SIT (p < 0.05), whereas this effect was delayed after HIHVT as it increased after 3 h (p < 0.05). In addition, VEGF transcription was higher in response to HIHVT (p < 0.05). In conclusion, SIT induces higher muscular stress than HIHVT without increasing systemic oxidation. In addition, HIHVT may induce more robust oxidative adaptations through PGC-1α and AMPK.

Citation: Casuso RA, Plaza-Díaz J, Ruiz-Ojeda FJ, Aragón-Vela J, Robles-Sanchez C, Nordsborg NB, et al. (2017) High-intensity high-volume swimming induces more robust signaling through PGC-1α and AMPK activation than sprint interval swimming in m. triceps brachii. PLoS ONE 12(10):
e0185494.

https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0185494

Editor: Alejandro Lucía, Universidad Europea de Madrid, SPAIN

Received: June 15, 2017; Accepted: September 13, 2017; Published: October 3, 2017

Copyright: © 2017 Casuso et al. This is an open access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License, which permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original author and source are credited.

Data Availability: All raw data underlying the findings described in the manuscript are freely available from Figshare. (doi: https://doi.org/10.6084/m9.figshare.5339674.v2).

Funding: The authors received no specific funding for this work.

Competing interests: The authors have declared that no competing interests exist.

This study compares the effects of HIHVT and SIT on muscle signaling in trained swimmers.