Control of reactive oxygen species production in contracting skeletal muscle

The increased activities of free radicals or reactive oxygen species in tissues of exercising humans and animals were first reported ∼30 years ago. A great deal has been learned about the processes that can generate these molecules, but there is little agreement on which are important, how they are controlled, and there are virtually no quantitative data. Superoxide and nitric oxide are generated by skeletal muscle and their reactions lead to formation of secondary species. A considerable amount is known about control of superoxide generation by xanthine oxidase activity, but similar information for other generation systems is lacking.

Re-evaluation of published data indicates potential approaches to quantification of the hydrogen peroxide concentration in resting and contracting muscle cells. Such calculations reveal that, during contractions, intracellular hydrogen peroxide concentrations in skeletal muscle may only increase by ∼100 nM. The primary effects of this modest increase appear to be in "redox" signaling processes that mediate some of the responses and adaptations of muscle to exercise. These act, in part, to increase the expression of cytoprotective proteins (e.g., heat shock proteins and antioxidant enzymes) that help maintain cell viability. During aging, these redox-mediated adaptations fail and this contributes to age-related loss of skeletal muscle.

Understanding the control of ROS generation in muscle and the effect of aging and some disease states will aid design of interventions to maintain muscle mass and function, but is dependent upon development of new analytical approaches. The final part of this review indicates areas where such developments are occurring.