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8000910 
Journal Article 
Infusion with the antioxidant N-acetylcysteine attenuates early adaptive responses to exercise in human skeletal muscle 
Petersen, AC; Mckenna, MJ; Medved, I; Murphy, KT; Brown, MJ; Della Gatta, P; Cameron-Smith, D 
2012 
Yes 
Acta Physiologica
ISSN: 1748-1708
EISSN: 1748-1716 
204 
3 
382-392 
English 
21827635 
WOS:000299775100011 
AIM: Production of reactive oxygen species (ROS) in skeletal muscle is markedly increased during exercise and may be essential for exercise adaptation. We, therefore, investigated the effects of infusion with the antioxidant N-acetylcysteine (NAC) on exercise-induced activation of signalling pathways and genes involved in exercise adaptation in human skeletal muscle.

METHODS: Subjects completed two exercise tests, 7 days apart, with saline (control, CON) or NAC infusion before and during exercise. Exercise tests comprised of cycling at 71% VO(2peak) for 45 min, and then 92% VO(2peak) to fatigue, with vastus lateralis biopsies at pre-infusion, after 45-min cycling and at fatigue.

RESULTS: Analysis was conducted on the mitogen-activated protein kinase signalling pathways, demonstrating that NAC infusion blocked the exercise-induced increase in JNK phosphorylation, but not ERK1/2, or p38 MAPK. Nuclear factor-κB p65 phosphorylation was unaffected by exercise; however, it was reduced in NAC at fatigue by 14% (P < 0.05) compared with pre-infusion. Analysis of exercise and/or ROS-sensitive genes demonstrated that exercise-induced mRNA expression is ROS dependent of MnSOD, but not PGC-1α, interleukin-6, monocyte chemotactic protein-1, or heat-shock protein 70.

CONCLUSION: These results suggest that inhibition of ROS attenuates some skeletal muscle cell signalling pathways and gene expression involved in adaptations to exercise.