Abstract:

BACKGROUND: Studies have proved that eccentric way of training can make the skeletal muscles generate protective effect and avoid damages caused by eccentric exercise. Up to now, there is little report about protective effect on small heat shock protein caused by mechanical load.
OBJECTIVE: To clarify the protection mechanism on skeletal muscle cells caused by the small heat shock protein induced by the mechanical loading.
METHODS: Wistar rats were randomly assigned into a sedentary control group, and an exercise training group. In the exercise training group, we use treadmill to train rats by intermittent eccentric exercise, 5 days every week. While for those in the sedentary control group, we feed them normally. Forty-eight hours after the end of the 6 weeks training period, 6 rats from each group were also submitted to one-time big load eccentric exercise. Then we analyzed the levels of serum creatine kinase. Western bloting was used to analyze the expression of αB-crystallin. Immunofluorence was used to examine αB-crystallin expression characteristics in muscle cells.
RESULTS AND CONCLUSION: After one-time eccentric exercise, rats’ serum creatine kinase in the sedentary control group was significantly higher than before exercise (P < 0.05), while serum creatine kinase was not significantly changed in the sedentary control group. Western-blotting results showed that, compared with the sedentary control group, there was an obvious increase of αB-crystallin protein levels in the exercise training group after one-time big load (P < 0.05). From immunofluorescence slice, αB-crystallin had translocated to sites at the Z-disk and cell membrane. Result suggests that the protein content of αB-crystallin is increased after eccentric exercise training and the increased αB-crystallin play protection effects through translocated to Z-dise and cell membrane.