Muscle-fiber type and blood oxidative stress after eccentric exercise

Acute strength exercise elicits a transient oxidative stress, but the factors underlying the magnitude of this response remain unknown. The purpose of this investigation was to determine whether muscle-fiber type relates to the magnitude of blood oxidative stress after eccentric muscle activity. Eleven college-age men performed 3 sets of 50 eccentric knee-extensions. Blood samples taken pre-, post-, and 24, 48, 72, and 96 hr postexercise were assayed for comparison of muscle damage and oxidative-stress biomarkers including protein carbonyls (PCs). Vastus lateralis muscle biopsies were assayed for relative percentage of slow- and fast-twitch muscle fibers. There was a mixed fiber composition (Type I = 39.6% ± 4.5%, Type IIa = 35.7% ± 3.5%, Type IIx = 24.8% ± 3.8%; p = .366). PCs were elevated 24, 48, and 72 hr (p = .032) postexercise, with a peak response of 126% (p = .012) above baseline, whereas other oxidative-stress biomarkers were unchanged. There are correlations between Type II muscle-fiber type and postexercise PC. Further study is needed to understand the mechanisms responsible for the observed fast-twitch muscle-fiber oxidative-stress relationship.