Early myogenic responses to acute exercise before and after resistance training in young men

To enable dynamic regulation of muscle mass and myofiber repair following injury, a satellite cell precursor population exists to supply additional nuclei. Activated satellite cells express many genes and associated proteins necessary for maturation and incorporation into the damaged fiber. There is little knowledge about the response of these markers following whole-body resistance exercise training. We investigated the impact of 12 weeks of progressive whole-body resistance training on the expression of MRFs, PAX7, NCAM, and FA1, incorporating both acute and chronic resistance exercise components. Ten young recreationally active males (21.2 ± 3.5 years) performed 12 weeks of whole-body resistance training at 70–85% of their predetermined one-repetition maximum (1RM). At the initiation and completion of the training period, muscular strength was assessed by RM and dynamometer testing, and vastus lateralis samples were obtained prior to and 3 h following an acute resistance exercise test (both whole-body and isometric exercises). Increased mRNA expression of PAX7 (threefold), NCAM (threefold), MYF5 (threefold), MYOD (threefold) and MYOGENIN (twofold) was observed 3 h after the acute resistance exercise test, both pre and posttraining. Similarly, PAX7 (11-fold) and FA1 (twofold) protein abundance increased after acute exercise, while resting NCAM (eightfold) and FA1 (threefold) protein abundance increased following 12 weeks of resistance training. It is possible that these molecular changes are primarily due to the preceding exercise bout, and are not modified by long-term or whole-body exercise training.