Effects of an anabolic hormone on aerobic capacity of rat striated muscle

The effect of chronic administration for 6 weeks of an anabolic steroid, nandrolone phenylpropionate (Durabolin), was studied in three predominantly glycolytic muscles, and three oxidative muscles of sedentary female rats. Mean blood pressure and resting heart rate (HR) were lower in the anabolic-treated group, while the increase in HR during stimulation of EDL was reduced. No change was noted in the aerobic capacity of ventricular myocardium, although there was an increase in skeletal muscles due to a combination of increased capillary supply and/or TCA cycle enzyme activity. Capillary:fibre ratio (C:F) increased around 10% in glycolytic muscle with little effect on resting blood flow (BF). In EDL C:F was 1.1 +/- 0.02 vs. 1.2 +/- 0.01 and BF was 7.0 +/- 1.45 vs. 6.2 +/- 1.82 ml min-1 100 g-1 for control and Durabolin treated animals, respectively (means +/- SEM, n = 7). No increase in citrate synthase (CS) activity was evident. In soleus, where C:F was not significantly different between groups, CS activity increased from 3.9 +/- 0.34 to 5.9 +/- 0.40 microM g-1 min-1 (means +/- SEM, n = 7). Glycolytic capacity, indicated by pyruvate kinase activity, increased only in diaphragm. These data demonstrate that total oxidative metabolism of striated muscle does not necessarily increase with greater proportion of FOG fibres, nor is it always correlated with capillary supply. The positive myotrophic effect of Durabolin represents the sum of modest changes at different levels of organisation.