Progressive metabolite changes in individual human muscle fibers with increasing work rates

Muscle biopsies were obtained from vastus lateralis muscles of four volunteers exercising at increasing work rates on a bicycle ergometer. Samples were taken at rest (t1), after a work load 23% below the blood lactate threshold (t2), 23% above this threshold (t3), and at exhaustion (t4). Individual muscle fibers were typed by their lactate dehydrogenase and adenylokinase levels and assayed for lactate, glucose-6-phosphate, and malate, (which preliminary data indicated to be the most responsive to increased activity) as well as ATP and phosphocreatine. The results in three of the four cases indicated that by the time of the t2 sample, almost all fibers, regardless of type, had been recruited. Additionally, there were no major differences in lactate concentration between type 1 and 2 fibers from muscle samples taken at t1, t2, and t3. It is concluded that in a muscle with fast-twitch glycolytic and slow-twitch oxidative fibers, all fibers share in the contraction to a substantial degree, even at moderate work loads, and that both the type 1 and 2 fibers contribute significantly to the initial rise in blood lactate during a graded exercise task. Metabolite responses in type 2 fibers differed in certain respects among the four participants. This is attributed to differences in their training backgrounds and consequent differences in type 2 fiber oxidative enzyme levels.