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J Physiol Pharmacol. 2008 December ; 59(Suppl 7): 71–88.

MECHANISMS FOR EXERCISE TRAINING-INDUCED INCREASES

IN SKELETAL MUSCLE BLOOD FLOW CAPACITY: DIFFERENCES
WITH INTERVAL SPRINT TRAINING VERSUS AEROBIC
ENDURANCE TRAINING

M.H. LAUGHLIN and B. ROSEGUINI

Department of Biomedical Sciences, and Health Activity Center, College of Veterinary Medicine,
Department of Medical Pharmacology and Physiology, School of Medicine, and Dalton
Cardiovascular Research Center, University of Missouri, Columbia, MO 65211, USA

Abstract
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Skeletal muscle blood flow capacity (BFC) is increased by exercise training due to structural vascular
remodeling (in the form of angiogenesis of capillaries and remodeling of the arterial tree within
skeletal muscle) and/or altered control of vascular resistance. Changes in control can be central or
the result of changes in reactivity of arteries and arterioles (due to changes in vascular smooth muscle
and/or endothelium). The purpose of this review is to evaluate the relative importance of these
mechanisms for increased BFC following interval sprint training (IST) and endurance exercise
training (ET). Based on the results discussed herein we conclude that the importance of each of these
mechanisms varies throughout muscle tissue due to interactions of muscle fiber-type composition
and muscle fiber recruitment patterns during exercise. The distribution of vascular adaptive changes
varies with mode of training. For example, IST has been shown to produce the greatest relative
increase in contractile activity in fast-twitch, white, skeletal muscle (i.e. white gastrocnemius muscle
(Gw) and Gw muscle exhibits the largest increase in oxidative capacity, capillary density, BFC, and
changes in vascular cells with IST. In contrast, ET has been shown to produce the greatest relative
increase in contractile activity in red gastrocnemius muscle (Gr), and Gr muscle exhibits the largest
increase in oxidative capacity, capillary density, and BFC after ET training. Results demonstrate that
the increases in BFC are not mediated solely by structural adaptation. Rather, changes in vascular
control predominate in Gr and soleus muscle, while increases in arteriolar and capillary density
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predominate following IST in Gw. Finally, evidence indicates that ET and IST induce non-uniform
changes in smooth muscle and endothelium throughout skeletal muscle arteriolar networks.

Keywords
blood flow; capacity; vascular remodeling; exercise

Address reprint requests and other correspondence: M. H. Laughlin, Department of Biomedical Sciences, W102 Veterinary Medicine
Bldg, 1600 E. Rollins Rd., University of Missouri, Columbia MO, 65211.
Author’s address: M. H. Laughlin, Ph.D., Curators’ Professor and Chair Department of Biomedical Sciences, E102, Vet. Med. Bldg.,
University of Missouri, Columbia, MO 65211, USA.
Conflicts of interest statement: None declared.
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INTRODUCTION
Exercise training improves cardiovascular function and increases vascular transport capacity
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of skeletal muscle (1–4). In human subjects exercise training for as little as 4 weeks has been
reported to increase blood flow capacity (BFC) as measured by reactive hyperemic responses
to occlusion of blood flow to the forearm (5,6). Also, Volianitis and colleagues (7) report that
the BFC of elite rowers, as measured from maximal arm vascular conductance, was 35% greater
than in average fit subjects and more recently, highly trained cyclists have been reported to
have greater BFC of the legs, as reflected in increased reactive hyperemic flow (8). Animal
experiments also indicate that increased levels of physical activity alter skeletal muscle exercise
hyperemia, indeed both maximal cardiac output and muscle blood flow are increased by
exercise training (9–11). For example, Musch and colleagues reported that endurance exercise
training of dogs produced a 30% increase in maximal cardiac output and that 80% of this
additional cardiac output was distributed to skeletal muscle (12). Understanding mechanisms
responsible for exercise training-induced increases in skeletal muscle blood flow capacity
(BFC) and increased skeletal muscle blood flow during natural exercise requires integration
of knowledge about skeletal muscle fiber type composition, muscle fiber recruitment patterns
during exercise, distribution of blood flow within and among muscles, and anatomy of skeletal
muscle vascular beds.

The purpose of this brief review is to summarize what is known about exercise training-induced
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vascular adaptative mechanisms that contribute to increased BFC in skeletal muscle. As

summarized below, current evidence indicates that training-induced increases in BFC by at
least two primary mechanisms: 1) structural remodeling of the vascular tree (capillary bed and
arterial tree) and by 2) altered vasomotor reactivity of arteries and arterioles; i.e. altered control
of conductance. Muscle fiber type composition exerts powerful influences on vascular structure
and function in, and on the biological strategy for, vascular adaptation of skeletal muscle
(13–15). Given the importance of muscle fiber type, our strategy for this review is to first
summarize and discuss skeletal muscle fiber type composition and how it impacts the
vasculature. Then we summarize and discuss current state of knowledge concerning the
contribution of structural vascular adaptation to training induced increases in BFC. Next we
review the contribution of altered control of vascular resistance mediated through changes in
endothelium and vascular smooth muscle. Finally we integrate these data to summarize how
current information indicates that exercise training increases BFC in skeletal muscle.

SKELETAL MUSCLE FIBER TYPE AND VASCULAR STRUCTURE AND

FUNCTION
Skeletal muscle is a complex tissue composed of connective tissue, nerves and muscle fibers.
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Muscle fibers have been grouped into 3 general phenotypes based on their contractile and
metabolic properties (16): slow-twitch oxidative (SO) fibers, fast-twitch, glycolytic (FG)
fibers, and fast-twitch, oxidative, glycolytic (FOG) fibers. The remarkable matching of
vascular structure and function to muscle fiber characteristics has been demonstrated in a
number of mammalian species, ranging from rat to man (15–19). The relationships among
muscle fiber type, oxidative capacity, vascularization, capillary exchange capacity,
mechanisms of vascular control, muscle fiber recruitment patterns during exercise, and regional
distribution of blood flow within and among muscles during exercise are well recognized (4,
17,20–23). For example, it is well established that muscles composed predominantly of slow-
twitch fibers have increased capillarization, arteriolar density, oxidative capacity, and
endothelium-dependent dilation when compared with white muscle composed mainly of fast
twitch fibers (4,14,17,24–26).

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MUSCLE FIBER RECRUITMENT PATTERNS DURING EXERCISE:

IMPLICATIONS FOR TRAINING-INDUCED VASCULAR ADAPTATIONS
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Muscle fiber recruitment during exercise occurs in a reasonably predictable manner depending
on duration and intensity of exercise (4,27,28). In general, at low intensities, deep, high-
oxidative fibers, SO and FOG, are recruited and produce the majority of force, while at
increasing intensities, fast-twitch fibers are recruited progressively, so that during high-
intensity exercise (sprints) all fibers are active. As expected, this recruitment pattern directly
impacts muscle blood flow responses to exercise (4,28). Thus, during an acute bout of exercise
the increase in muscle blood flow: 1) is distributed heterogeneously within and among skeletal
muscles (4,17,29), 2) is related to muscle fiber type and muscle fiber recruitment patterns (4,
17) and 3) changes within and among muscles over time during sustained submaximal exercise,
due to changes in muscle fiber recruitment patterns (4,17). Together, these observations
importantly highlight the notion that given an exercise intensity, the metabolic milieu
surrounding the resistance arteries, and the physical forces to which the vasculature is exposed
may vary considerably in different portions of the muscle and between muscles. As discussed
below, it is therefore conceivable that exercise training-induced vascular adaptations are
distributed non-uniformly, not only between muscles of different fiber type composition, but
also within the same vascular network. We next, review the evidence of structural changes in
skeletal muscle vasculature associated with exercise training.
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STRUCTURAL VASCULAR ADAPTATIONS

There is strong support in the literature for the concept that exercise training-induced structural
and functional changes are concentrated in the muscle tissue having the greatest increase in
activity during each training session (Fig. 1) (9,30–35). For example, interval sprint training
(IST) (high speed, uphill running) produces the greatest relative increase in contractile activity
in fast-twitch, white skeletal muscle, like Gw (29,36) and this type of training produces the
largest relative increase in oxidative capacity (36), capillary density (31) and BFC, in Gw
muscle (30,34,35). In contrast, endurance exercise training produces the greatest relative
increase in contractile activity in Gr muscle. Also, Gr muscle exhibits the largest relative
increase in oxidative capacity (36), capillary density (31) and BFC of the extensor muscles
examined in rats following endurance exercise training (30,34,35). Available results indicate
that capillarity increases in the soleus and Gr muscles of ET rats and that capillarity is increased
only in the Gw muscle of IST rats (31,32). However, the limited magnitude of these changes
in capillarity indicates that increases in BFC of these muscle tissues following training are not
mediated solely by increased capillarization (31,35).

CAPILLARY ANGIOGENESIS; EXERCISE TRAINING INDUCES NON-

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UNIFORM INCREASES IN CAPILLARITY

Exercise training increases the number of capillaries per square millimeter of muscle in humans
and these increases are greatest in SO (Type I) and FOG (Type IIA) skeletal muscle (37–39).
Results from exercise trained rats indicate that exercise training-induced angiogenesis of
capillaries within and among skeletal muscles is greatest in the muscle tissue with the greatest
relative increase in fiber activity during training bouts (30–32,34–36,40,41). Analysis of
different types of exercise training on capillarity in different regions of the gastrocnemius
muscle reveals that exercise training-induced adaptations of capillarity and mitochondrial
content are spatially coupled so that the regions that exhibit increased oxidative capacity also
exhibit increased capillarity (15,31,32). That is, ET increases capillarity in high oxidative
skeletal muscle, such as Gr, but not in low oxidative muscle, such as Gw (15,32). In contrast,
capillarity is increased in Gm and Gw by IST but not in high oxidative muscle tissue (31). It

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seems reasonable to conclude that adaptations of BFC, capillarity and oxidative capacity are
coupled spatially within and among muscles (15). On the other hand, while the regional
distribution of training-induced adaptations of BFC, capillarity, and oxidative capacity appear
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coupled spatially in the muscle, the magnitude of these adaptations within and among skeletal
muscles are not. For example, IST induces 3 fold increases in oxidative capacity, 2 fold
increases in BFC, and only 20% increases in capillarity of Gw (30–32,34–36,40,41).

ARTERIOLAR DENSITY; EXERCISE TRAINING INDUCES NON-UNIFORM

INCREASES IN ARTERIOLAR DENSITY IN SKELETAL MUSCLE
Increased BFC can result from increased maximal vascular conductance resulting from
increased arteriolar density (increased number and/or size of arterioles). Thus, vascular
remodeling of the arteriolar tree could play a role in the increases in BFC in both red and white
portions of the gastrocnemius muscle. Results in rats indicate that ET increases BFC in Gr,
Gm, Gw, and soleus (42). ET also appears to increase arteriolar density throughout fast twitch
skeletal muscle, as reflected in increases in both the Gw and Gr, but in contrast, soleus muscle
arteriolar density was not significantly altered (43). This same study reported that ET did not
alter wall thickness of skeletal muscle arterioles.

The increase in arteriolar density in Gw caused by ET appeared to be the result of an increase

in the number of arterioles in the size range of 8–20 μm diameters with no change in the number
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of smallest arterioles or arterioles larger than 25 μm. In contrast, in Gr muscle tissue, the
increase in arteriolar density with ET was the result of an increase in the number of arterioles
of larger diameter (16 to > 25 μm diameter) (43). In opposition to these ET effects on arteriolar
density, IST did not alter arteriolar density, % artery area, total artery area, or arteriolar wall
thickness in either the Gw, Gr, or soleus muscle tissue (43). This result was surprising because
Gw muscle of similarly trained rats exhibited a 30% increase in BFC (30). Interestingly, BFC
of mixed gastrocnemius muscle (Gm) was increased by nearly 100% in these same IST rats
(30). Because arteriolar density in Gm muscle was not examined in the study of Laughlin et
al. (43), we conducted a study to determine whether arteriolar density is increased in Gm muscle
of IST rats. Arteriolar densities and dimensions were measured using vascular casting
techniques and computational network model analysis was used to examine mechanisms
responsible for increased skeletal muscle blood flow capacity in Gm muscle tissue of IST rats
(44). The results of this study revealed that the number of arterioles of branch order 3A through
6A were increased by IST in Gm muscle while arteriolar length and diameter per arteriolar
order were unchanged by IST training. The computational model analysis predicted that this
arteriolar remodeling would shift the primary site of vascular resistance from 3A arterioles (in
sedentary rats) to the 5A and 6A arterioles in IST rats. Importantly, the model analysis also
indicated that these changes in the arteriolar tree of the Gm muscle tissue would be sufficient
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to create the doubling of BFC reported for Gm muscle of IST rats (30,44). This is of great
interest because, as discussed above, previous findings with IST training of rats indicated that
BFC increases were not coupled to increased capillarity. Thus this study indicates that structural
arteriolar remodeling may be the primary adaptation responsible for the IST-induced increase
in BFC in Gm muscle (44).

Available information does not support the hypothesis that increases in arteriolar density are
focused in the tissue with the greatest increase in activity during training bouts (i.e. soleus and
Gr muscle tissue with ET and Gw with IST). ET has the greatest effects on fiber activity,
oxidative capacity and capillary density in Gr muscle but ET doubled arteriolar density in both
Gr and Gw muscle and did not alter arteriolar density in soleus muscle (43). In contrast to the
similar increase in arteriolar density of Gr and Gw after ET (43), Gute and colleagues (32)
reported that ET increased capillarity by 50% in Gw muscle, 55% in Gm muscle, and by 27%
in Gr muscle. Thus, while ET appears to increase both arteriolar and capillarity throughout the

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gastrocnemius muscle, the increase in arteriolar density is similar in Gr and Gw while the
changes in capillarity are greater in Gw and Gm than in Gr. In contrast, available results from
soleus muscle indicate that ET increases BFC without altering arteriolar or capillary density
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(31,43). Clearly the increase in BFC of soleus muscle after ET is therefore the result of altered
control of vascular resistance. Further, the greater increase in BFC of soleus and Gr than Gw
and increases in capillarity and arteriolar density of Gm and Gw muscle reported after ET,
suggest that adaptations in vasomotor control of resistance may be a major influence in
increased BFC of Gr with ET as well (42,43).

MECHANISTIC BASIS OF EXERCISE-INDUCED VASCULAR REMODELING

Controversy continues concerning what signals vascular adaptation in skeletal muscle in
response to exercise. The most popular proposals are that mechanical forces (such as shear
stress or muscle stretch) or that metabolic signals activate vascular adaptation to exercise
(45). Recently, Hellsten and co-workers provided evidence in humans that muscle stretch and
the related increase blood flow might be a signal for training-induced vascular adaptations.
Using a model of knee extension, these authors have shown that 90 minutes of passive exercise
acutely increased VEGF release in muscle interstitium as well as increased eNOS mRNA in
muscle tissue, without any appreciable effects on muscle metabolism (46).

An important and often unappreciated issue in the study of the mechanistic basis of vascular
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remodeling after training is that the signals and/or factors promoting angiogenesis might be
different than those inducing arteriogenesis. In fact, contrary to our hypothesis that adaptations
in arteriolar density would reflect reported adaptations of capillarity (31,32), we found
strikingly different spatial patterns of adaptation of these factors within and between muscles
(see Fig. 1). Along this line, there is considerable evidence that, in rat skeletal muscle, the
anatomical processes responsible for formation of new capillaries (sprouting and/or
intussusception) are different from processes responsible for formation of new arterioles. Price
and Skalak (47,48) have shown that during normal maturation and in response to chronic
prazosin treatment, new arterioles form when capillaries become invested with smooth muscle.
Direct evidence lacking, the role of “capillary arterialization” in vascular adaptation induced
by exercise training in skeletal muscle has yet to be established.

In conclusion, while structural vascular adaptation can explain changes in BFC produced by
IST training, structural vascular adaptation does not account for the increases in BFC produced
by endurance training. The fact that increases in BFC in exercise trained skeletal muscle are
not fully explained by structural adaptations (i.e. increased capillarity, increased arteriolar
number or sizes) indicates that control of vascular resistance and vasomotor responses mediated
by endothelial cells and/or smooth muscle cells must also contribute to increased BFC in trained
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skeletal muscle (30–32,34,35,41).

FUNCTIONAL VASCULAR ADAPTATION; CHANGES IN CONTROL OF

CONDUCTANCE
The investigation of how the mechanisms controlling vascular conductance during exercise
are modulated by exercise training has been partially impeded by the incomplete understanding
of which signals and/or factors govern muscle blood flow responses to exercise.

The exhaustive search for a unifying hypothesis to explain mechanisms of exercise hyperemia
has strengthened the concept of redundancy and it is now well accepted that a number of factors
interact in a complex and to be established manner to promote pronounced increases in vascular
conductance during exercise. The long list of mechanisms that are thought to contribute to
exercise hyperemia is summarized on Fig. 2. Due to space limitations, we will focus on

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evidence concerning the effects of training on blood flow regulation. For an in depth discussion
of mechanisms involved in exercise hyperemia the reader is referred to other reviews (49–
52).
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As emphasized above relative to structural adaptations, the understanding of how training

affects vasomotor reactivity of skeletal muscle arteries requires acknowledgment that the
importance of distinct control mechanisms varies significantly along the vascular network and
is intrinsically related to muscle fiber type composition. For example, it is believed that small
distal skeletal muscle arterioles may be more responsive to several vasoactive mediators than
proximal large segments, possibly due to nonuniform expression of receptors and/or ion
channels throughout the arteriolar tree (53,54). Similarly, it has been suggested that both the
release of metabolites during muscle contraction and the arteriolar responsiveness to
metabolites might be different depending on skeletal muscle fiber type composition (55,56).
In this scenario, it is expected that training induced-adaptations in the control of vascular
conductance will occur non-uniformly within and between muscles depending on type and
intensity of exercise.

VASCULAR ADAPTATIONS OF CONTROL OF

CONDUCTANCE:ENDOTHELIUM
Endothelium dependent dilation (EDD) is the result of release of dilator substances (EDRF’s)
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from the endothelium in response to various stimuli. Chemical signals activate phospholipase
C (PLC) signaling increased intracellular free Ca2+ ([Ca2+]I), activating 3 processes: 1)
phospholipase A2 to release arachidonic acid (AA) which is converted to prostacyclin (PGI2)
by cyclooxygenase (COX); 2) eNOS to produce NO; and 3) release of unidentified endothelium
derived hyperpolarizing factors (EDHFs) (57). Although it is clear that the endothelium plays
a pivotal role in normal cardiovascular function (58–62), the contribution of EDRFs to exercise
hyperemia appears to be modest (63–65). Nevertheless, there is substantial evidence indicating
that exercise training can induce increases in EDD (5,66–73).

We recently examined the effects of ET and IST on endothelium-dependent dilation and

endothelial phenotype of arteries perfusing gastrocnemius and soleus muscles of rats (13,14).
Based on the proposition that the adaptations in the endothelium produced by exercise training
result from changes in shear stress during exercise bouts (74–76) we hypothesized that
exercise-induced vascular adaptations occur, spatially, in the area of muscle tissue with the
greatest relative increase in fiber activity during exercise training bouts. Consistent with this
hypothesis, we found that the distribution of training-induced adaptations in the arteries that
perfuse gastrocnemius muscle were dramatically different following IST (13) and endurance
training (14). After IST, acetylcholine-induced increases in blood flow were observed only in
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Gw muscle, while eNOS expression was increased non-uniformly in arteries perfusing both
red and white gastrocnemius (13). In contrast, endurance trained rats exhibited increased
acetylcholine-induced dilation in Gr and Gm but not in the soleus or Gw muscle and increased
eNOS protein expression predominantly in vessels perfusing the red gastrocnemius (14). It
should be emphasized that while increased eNOS expression was observed in the arterioles of
the muscle tissue with the greatest relative increase in activity (Gr for ET and Gw for IST), not
all arterioles in these tissues exhibited this adaptation (13,14). Thus, IST did not uniformly
increase expression of these proteins throughout the arteriolar tree perfusing the Gw muscle
as our hypothesis predicted (13). In fact, increases in eNOS content were also seen in some Gr
arterioles of IST rats. Whatever the exercise-induced signal for increased expression of eNOS
(e.g. increased shear stress), these results suggest that this signal is not uniformly increased
throughout the arteriolar tree perfusing the gastrocnemius muscle during ET or IST.

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FLOW-INDUCED DILATION OF SKELETAL MUSCLE ARTERIOLES

A number of mechanisms supposedly involved in exercise hyperemia appear to have their
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vasodilatory effects mediated, at least partially, by endothelial derived NO (65), but evidence
on the influence of training in these mechanisms is scarce. Among them, flow-mediated dilation
of skeletal muscle resistance arterioles has received some attention and there is a growing
amount of work in experimental animals demonstrating that exercise training increases
arteriolar responsiveness to flow (73,77–79). Noteworthy, as it is true for adaptations
mentioned above, substantial heterogeneity seems to exist for training induced changes in
responsiveness to flow within and between muscles. For example, in the rat gastrocnemuis,
we observed that while second-order arterioles (2A) showed substantially increased dilatory
responses to flow after ET, first-order arterioles dilated less when compared with the control
group (14). Moreover, Jasperse and Laughlin (80) failed to find any significant difference in
the responsiveness to flow after ET in the soleus muscle.

CONDUCTED VASODILATION
The dilatory response to muscle contraction is not uniform along the arteriolar tree, occurring
faster and to a greater extent in the small arterioles (81). From distal remote sites, it is believed
that dilation ascends to proximal larger segments, predominantly through endothelial cell-to-
cell communication (53). Presumably, this mechanism is fundamental for the coordination of
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the dilatory response and given the velocity the signal travels, important for the early-onset
dilatory response seen during contractions. Recently, Bearden et al. (82) tested the hypothesis
that exercise training (voluntary running) for 8 weeks would increase the magnitude of the
conducted response in second-order arterioles of the gluteus maximus muscle in mice.
Unexpectedly, however, no differences were detected between groups for the maximal local
and conducted responses to acetylcholine (82).

SUMMARY
In summary, exercise training induces nonuniform increase in EDD in the skeletal muscle
vasculature. This effect appears to be more pronounced in the muscles recruited during exercise
training, although considerable inhomogeneities can be seen even within the same vasculature.
To this point, it is unknown the actual contribution of increased EDD to the observed increased
BFC after ET and IST.

VASCULAR ADAPTATIONS OF CONTROL OF CONDUCTANCE: SMOOTH

MUSCLE
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Contrary to what is known for the endothelial cells, exercise-induced adaptations in vascular
smooth muscle cells located in skeletal muscle arteries/arterioles remain poorly understood.
Being a pivotal player in regulating vascular resistance, it is likely that changes in vascular
smooth muscle reactivity contribute to the observed increased blood flow capacity after
exercise training. Furthermore, the recognition that factors such as cyclic stretch of the vessel
wall, which is acutely altered during an exercise bout, can lead to pronounced modifications
in VSMC phenotype (83), favors the notion that repeated exposures to physical activity might
promote beneficial adaptations in the vascular smooth muscle (84). In this section we will
address the modulatory effects of training on substances or factors that have their dilatory
effects mediated, at least partially, by directaction on vascular smooth muscle cells.

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ADENOSINE
Adenosine is released extracelluarly during muscle contraction and accumulates in the muscle
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interstitium in a parallel fashion with the muscle blood flow response (see Marshall (56) for
review). The mechanisms of action on the vasculature are not entirely understood, but as
suggested recently (56), A2A receptors on the extra luminal surface of the arterial smooth
muscle appear to have a predominant role for mediating the vasodilatory response to exercise
(56). The contribution of adenosine to exercise hyperemia appears to be intensity-dependent
(85), although a significant reduction in the steady-state blood flow during submaximal knee-
extension exercise has been reported after adenosine blockade (86). Of special relevance, it
has been suggested that spatial differences in adenosine release and responsiveness exist within
and between muscles (87) and recent findings indicate that rather than controlling total flow,
adenosine may contribute mainly to the regulation of blood flow heterogeneity (88).

Evidence regarding the modulatory effects of exercise training on vascular responsiveness to

adenosine is scarce. Divergent findings have been reported in animal studies after treadmill
training with studies showing reduced (89) or unaltered responsiveness (10) to adenosine in
the gracilis and spinotrapezius muscles, respectively. Given that both muscles are not believed
to be recruited during low to moderate running intensities in rats, caution must be used when
interpreting these findings. McCurdy et al. reported that decreased physical activity (perhaps
detraining) resulted in decreased sensitivity of isolated gastrocnemius arterioles to the dilator
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actions of adenosine (90) and did not alter responses of arterioles from soleus muscle. These
results may suggest that exercise training will increase adenosine sensitivity in muscles known
to be active during exercise.

ADRENERGIC VASOMOTOR REACTIVITY

Sympathetic activation during exercise is fundamental for the proper redistribution of blood
flow toward active muscles (4). Equally important, the notion that sympathetic removal or
blockade (91,92) increases muscle perfusion during both onset and sustained exercise, suggests
that sympathetic activity is also elevated in exercising muscle and a competition between local
dilatory factors and sympathetic-mediated vasoconstriction exists. In fact, the prevailing view
remains that the vasculature within active muscle ‘escapes’ from sympathetic vasoconstriction,
possibly through the release of vasoactive substances by the contracting muscle. Given the
importance of sympathetic activation to muscle blood flow regulation during exercise, it is
surprising that only a few studies have addressed the effects of training on vascular
responsiveness to adrenergic stimuli. In humans, the limited evidence available seems to
suggest that exercise training does not affect sympathetic-mediated constriction at rest (93,
94). A recent study also examined sympathetic vasoconstriction during moderate exercise in
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sedentary subjects and competitive cyclists and report no differences between groups (95).

In experimental animals, exercise training has been reported to alter reactivity of vascular
smooth muscle to vasoconstrictor agonists in the abdominal aorta (66,68,79), as well as
resistance arteries of the rat gastrocnemius muscle (13). Laughlin et al. (13) reported that IST
decreased the vasoconstrictor responses of gastrocnemius feed arteries to phenylephrine but
increased constrictor responses of Gw arterioles. Donato et al. (96) also reported that ET
decreased the vasoconstrictor responses of gastrocnemius arterioles in old and young rats. In
contrast to these observations in gastrocnemius arterioles, Jasperse et al. (80) reported that
endurance exercise training did not alter the constrictor response of soleus feed arteries to
phenylephrine. Similarly, Donato et al. (96) reported that exercise training did not alter
vasoconstrictor responses of soleus arterioles of young rats but did decrease constrictor
responses in soleus arterioles of old rats, a finding attributed to changes in the endothelium,
not smooth muscle (96).

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MYOGENIC RESPONSE
The state of contraction of vascular smooth muscle cells is modulated by changes in stretch
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produced by differences in transmural pressure (97). Following an increase in intravascular

pressure, arterioles present a sustained level of contraction known as the myogenic response
(98). It is currently unknown to what extent this response participates in exercise hyperemia,
but it has been suggested that the mechanical compression of the vasculature evokes a dilatory
response that has, in part, a myogenic origin (99,100). To date, there is little information about
the effects of exercise training on vascular reactivity to mechanical factors. In agreement with
the hypothesis concerning the spatial distribution of adaptations in skeletal muscle, Laughlin
et al. (13) reported that IST increased spontaneous tone in arterioles isolated from Gw but not
arterioles from Gr in rats. Equally important, studies that have addressed the impact of inactivity
induced by hindlimb unweighting on the myogenic response in rat skeletal muscle arterioles
report heterogeneous adaptations depending on the muscle fiber type composition surrounding
the arteriole as well as a branch order effect. In 2A’s isolated from the GW, Delp (101) found
decreased myogenic responsiveness after hindlimb unloading, while Heaps and Bowles
(102) found no effect in first-order arterioles. In the mixed gastrocnemuis, however, Heaps and
Bowles found both increased spontaneous tone and myogenic responsiveness after ET (102).

CONCLUSIONS
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In conclusion, available information indicates that training-induced increases in skeletal

muscle BFC are the result of combinations of structural and functional vascular adaptations.
Exercise training increases BFC through increases in capillarity, growth and remodeling of
arterioles, alterations in endothelial and smooth muscle phenotypes and altered control of
vascular resistance. Importantly, the relative contribution of each of these adaptations, and
spatial distribution of the adaptations throughout the musculature are not uniformly distributed
in the arteriolar network. Depending on the mode of training and the muscle fiber recruitment
patterns associated with it, the duration and intensity of the training, these different mechanisms
can all be activated to differing amounts to accomplish vascular adaptation. Thus, current
results support the hypothesis that increases in BFC in skeletal muscle are the result of a mixture
of increased arteriolar density, increased capillarity, and changes in control of resistance (30–
32,34,35,41).

In conclusion, as we entered into these experiments we conceived that the biologic strategy for
vascular adaptation to training involved a mixture of angiogenesis of arteries, capillaries and
veins and altered control of vascular resistance in skeletal muscle tissue undergoing adaptation.
Our results indicate that fiber recruitment patterns during exercise and muscle fiber type
composition interact with exercise intensity/duration to provide graded adaptations through
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each of these mechanisms within the arterial tree of skeletal muscle. In the light of these results
it seems possible that each type of skeletal muscle (fast red, fast white, slow) can adapt via
graded changes in capillarity, arteriolar density, and vascular control processes (4,30–32,34,
35,42). Clearly more work is needed in this area because the biological strategies of the
adaptations produced in response to altered activity in skeletal muscle of different phenotypes
are only partially characterized at this time.

Acknowledgements
This work was supported by National Heart, Lung, and Blood Institute Grants HL-36088 and HL52490. Bruno
Roseguini is a Capes/Fulbright Fellow.

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Fig. 1.
Relative changes in: A) oxidative capacity (as reflected in measures of cytochrome c
concentration), B) blood flow capacity, C) capillary to fiber-ratio, and D) arteriolar area/muscle
area in rat muscles after endurance training (ET) and interval sprint-training (IST). All data
are expressed as a % increase above the respective SED value (ET value = ET-SED/SED ×
100% and IST value = IST-SED/SED × 100%). ET program consisted of 10–12 weeks of
treadmill running, 30 m/min, 60 min/day, 5 days/week (31,43), while IST rats completed 10
weeks of IST consisting of six 2.5-min exercise bouts, with 4.5-min rest between bouts (60 m/
min, 15% incline), 5 days/week (31). The Figure combines data from references (31,32,34,
35) for the effects of ET, (30,31,43) for IST and (36) for oxidative capacity.
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Fig. 2.
Schematic representation of an arteriole surrounded by muscle fascicles. Mechanisms
supposedly involved in causing exercise hyperemia are listed on the left and control processes
believed to be altered in skeletal muscle vasculature by exercise training are summarized on
the right. See text for details.
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