Tension development and duty cycle affect Qpeak and VO2peak in contracting muscle

Ten canine gastrocnemius-plantaris muscle preparations were stimulated in situ to determine the interaction between tension development and the duty cycle in determining Qpeak and VO2peak. The muscle was stimulated with supramaximal voltage using four different stimulation protocols: 1) 5 twitches.s-1 (Tw), 2) 1 train.s-1-200 ms (1-200), 3) 1 train.s-1-300 ms (1-300), and 4) 2 trains.s-1-100 ms (2-100). Arterial and venous blood were sampled and Qpeak measured for determination of VO2peak. The total tension developed per second was integrated and averaged over 1 s (TDa) and used as an index of work of the muscle for each condition. The Qpeak and VO2peak were greater (P < 0.05) in the 1-200 condition compared to all other conditions. Further, Qpeak and VO2peak were greater (P < 0.05) in both the 1-300 and 2-100 conditions than during Tw: Qpeak (ml.kg-1.min-1) (mean +/- SE) for (Tw) = 928 +/- 65; (1-200) = 1368 +/- 102; (1-300) = 1150 +/- 96; (2-100) = 1189 +/- 89; VO2peak (ml.kg-1.min-1) for (Tw) = 108 +/- 8; (1-200) = 159 +/- 9; (1-300) = 135 +/- 11; (2-100) = 137 +/- 8. The TDa was significantly different among all conditions: TDa (N.kg-1) for (Tw) = 443 +/- 56; (1-200) = 606 +/- 81; (1-300) = 722 +/- 79; (2-100) = 522 +/- 41. We interpret these findings as an indication that the interaction of the duty cycle and tension development is a prime determinant of blood flow during muscle contractions.