Low-Intensity Pulsed Ultrasound Promotes Exercise-Induced Muscle Hypertrophy

Liang Tang; Jing Zhang; Xinjuan Zhao; Nan Li; Wenqi Jian; Shuxin Sun; Jianzhong Guo; Lijun Sun; Dean Ta

doi:10.1016/j.ultrasmedbio.2017.02.017

Low-Intensity Pulsed Ultrasound Promotes Exercise-Induced Muscle Hypertrophy

Ultrasound Med Biol. 2017 Jul;43(7):1411-1420. doi: 10.1016/j.ultrasmedbio.2017.02.017. Epub 2017 Apr 29.

Authors

Liang Tang¹, Jing Zhang¹, Xinjuan Zhao¹, Nan Li¹, Wenqi Jian¹, Shuxin Sun², Jianzhong Guo³, Lijun Sun⁴, Dean Ta⁵

Affiliations

¹ Institute of Sports Biology, Shaanxi Normal University, Xi'an, China.
² Department of Electronic Engineering, Fudan University, Shanghai, China.
³ Shaanxi Key Laboratory of Ultrasonics, Shaanxi Normal University, Xi'an, China.
⁴ Institute of Sports Biology, Shaanxi Normal University, Xi'an, China. Electronic address: sunlijun@snnu.edu.cn.
⁵ Department of Electronic Engineering, Fudan University, Shanghai, China; State Key Laboratory of ASIC and System, Fudan University, Shanghai, China; Key Laboratory of Medical Imaging Computing and Computer Assisted Intervention (MICCAI) of Shanghai, Shanghai, China.

PMID: 28461063
DOI: 10.1016/j.ultrasmedbio.2017.02.017

Abstract

The purpose of this study was to investigate whether low-intensity pulsed ultrasound (LIPUS) promotes exercise-induced muscle hypertrophy. Twenty-four adult Sprague-Dawley (SD) rats were randomly assigned to three groups (n = 8 per group): normal control group (NC), treadmill exercise group (TE) and treadmill exercise + LIPUS group (TE + LIPUS). The TE + LIPUS group received a LIPUS treatment (1 MHz, 30 mW/cm²) at the gastrocnemius for 20 min/d after treadmill exercise. The TE group was sham-treated. Eight weeks of treadmill training successfully established the exercise-induced muscle hypertrophy model. Muscle strength, muscle mass and muscle fiber cross-sectional area were significantly increased in the TE + LIPUS group compared with the TE group. Moreover, LIPUS treatment significantly upregulated the expression of Akt, mTOR, p-Akt and p-mTOR and significantly downregulated the expression of MSTN, ActRIIB, FoxO1 and its phosphorylation. The results indicated that LIPUS promotes exercise-induced muscle hypertrophy by facilitating protein synthesis and inhibiting the protein catabolism pathway.

Keywords: Low-intensity pulsed ultrasound; Protein catabolism; Protein synthesis; Skeletal muscle hypertrophy; Treadmill exercise.

Publication types

Research Support, Non-U.S. Gov't

MeSH terms

Animals
Combined Modality Therapy
Exercise Therapy*
Muscle Proteins / biosynthesis*
Muscle, Skeletal / anatomy & histology*
Muscle, Skeletal / physiopathology*
Organ Size / physiology
Organ Size / radiation effects
Physical Conditioning, Animal*
Rats
Rats, Sprague-Dawley
Ultrasonic Therapy*
Ultrasonic Waves

Substances

Muscle Proteins