Regulation of oxidative phosphorylation is different in electrically- and cortically-stimulated skeletal muscle

A computer model of the skeletal muscle bioenergetic system was used to study the regulation of oxidative phosphorylation (OXPHOS) in electrically-stimulated and cortically-stimulated skeletal muscle. Two types of the dependence of the intensity of each-step activation (ESA) of OXPHOS complexes on ATP usage activity were tested: power-type dependence and saturating-type dependence. The dependence of muscle oxygen consumption ([Image: see text] ), phosphocreatine (PCr), cytosolic ADP, ATP, inorganic phosphate (P(i)), pH and τ(p) (characteristic transition time) of the principal component of the muscle [Image: see text] on-kinetics on the ATP usage activity was simulated for both types of the ESA intensity-ATP usage activity dependence. Computer simulations involving the power-type dependence predict system properties that agree well with experimental data for electrically-stimulated muscle. On the other hand, model predictions for the saturating-type dependence in the presence of the ‘additional’ ATP usage (postulated previously to underlie the slow component of the VO(2) on-kinetics) reproduce well system properties encountered in human skeletal muscle during voluntary exercise. It is postulated that the difference between the regulation and kinetic properties of the system in electrically- and cortically-stimulated muscle is mostly due to the different muscle fibers recruitment pattern. In the former, all fiber types are recruited in parallel already at low power output (PO) values, while in the latter type I fibers (with higher ESA intensity) are stimulated at low PO values, while type II fibers (especially type II b and IIx fibers) with low ESA intensity are recruited predominantly at high PO values.