Heat-induced endoplasmic reticulum stress in soleus and gastrocnemius muscles and differential response to UPR pathway in rats.

The present study aimed to investigate the differential response of oxidative (soleus) and glycolytic (gastrocnemius) muscles to heat-induced endoplasmic reticulum (ER) stress. It was hypothesized that due to compositional and functional differences, both muscles respond differently to acute heat stress. To address this, male Sprague Dawley rats (12/group) were subjected to thermoneutral (25 °C) or heat stress (42 °C) conditions for 1 h. Soleus and gastrocnemius muscles were removed for analysis post-exposure. A significant increase in body temperature and free radical generation was observed in both the muscles following heat exposure. This further caused a significant increase in protein carbonyl content, AOPP, and lipid peroxidation in heat-stressed muscles. These changes were more pronounced in heat-stressed soleus compared to the gastrocnemius muscle. Accumulation of unfolded, denatured proteins results in ER stress, causing activation of unfolded protein response (UPR) pathway. The expressions of UPR transducers were significantly higher in soleus as compared to the gastrocnemius muscle. A significant elevation in resting intracellular calcium ion was also observed in heat-stressed soleus muscle. Overloading of cells with misfolded proteins in soleus muscle activated ER-induced apoptosis as indicated by significant upregulation of C/EBP homologous protein and Caspase12. The study provides a detailed mechanistic representation of the differential response of muscles toward UPR under heat stress. Data suggests that soleus majorly being an oxidative muscle is more prone to heat stress-induced insult indicated by enhanced apoptosis. This study may aid in devising mitigation strategies to improve muscle performance under heat stress.

Raised HIF1α during normoxia in high altitude pulmonary edema susceptible non-mountaineers.

High altitude pulmonary edema (HAPE) susceptibility is associated with EGLN1 polymorphisms, we hypothesized that HAPE-susceptible (HAPE-S, had HAPE episode in past) subjects may exhibit abnormal HIF1α levels in normoxic conditions. We measured HIF1α levels in HAPE-S and HAPE resistant (HAPE-R, no HAPE episode) individuals with similar pulmonary functions. Hemodynamic responses were also measured before and after normobaric hypoxia (Fi02 = 0.12 for 30 min duration at sea level) in both groups. . HIF1α was higher in HAPE-S (320.3 ± 267.5 vs 58.75 ± 33.88 pg/ml, P < 0.05) than HAPE-R, at baseline, despite no significant difference in baseline oxygen saturations (97.7 ± 1.7% and 98.8 ± 0.7). As expected, HAPE-S showed an exaggerated increase in pulmonary artery pressure (27.9 ± 6 vs 19.3 ± 3.7 mm Hg, P < 0.05) and a fall in peripheral oxygen saturation (66.9 ± 11.7 vs 78.7 ± 3.8%, P < 0.05), when exposed to hypoxia. HIF1α levels at baseline could accurately classify members of the two groups (AUC = 0.87). In a subset of the groups where hemoglobin fractions were additionally measured to understand the cause of elevated hypoxic response at baseline, two of four HAPE-S subjects showed reduced HbA. In conclusion, HIF 1 α levels during normoxia may represent an important marker for determination of HAPE susceptibility.