Effects of exercise training on responses of peripheral and visceral arteries in swine

Blood flow to skeletal muscle during exercise is greater in the trained state. We hypothesized that intrinsic vasomotor reactivity of arteries to active muscle during training bouts would be altered to favor a relative vasodilation after training. To test this hypothesis, miniature swine were pen confined (Sed; n = 30) or treadmill trained for 5 days/wk over 16-20 wk (Trn; n = 32). Efficacy of training was indicated by myocardial hypertrophy (4.84 +/- 0.11 and 5.81 +/- 0.12 g/kg body wt for Sed and Trn, respectively, P < 0.0005), training bradycardia at several submaximal running speeds of a maximal exercise test, increased running time to exhaustion (26 +/- 1 and 35 +/- 1 min for Sed and Trn, respectively, P < 0.0005), and increased oxidative capacities of several locomotory skeletal muscles. Segments of femoral, brachial, mesenteric, renal, and hepatic arteries were isolated from Sed and Trn swine. Isometric contractile and relaxation properties of vascular rings cut from these segments were determined in vitro. Contractile responses to KCl and norepinephrine (NE) were determined, as were relaxation responses to sodium nitroprusside and adenosine, agents acting directly on vascular smooth muscle, and the endothelium-dependent agents bradykinin and the calcium ionophore A-23187. Responses to vasocontractile and vasorelaxation agents were not different between Sed and Trn swine for vessels serving active muscles (i.e., femoral, brachial). On the other hand, renal arterial rings from Trn swine exhibited lesser contractile responses than those from Sed swine across a range of NE concentrations (P < 0.05) and approximately 25% less maximal contractile response to NE (32.7 +/- 2.6 and 24.2 +/- 2.1 g for Sed and Trn, respectively, P < 0.01). Responses of other vessels serving viscera (i.e., mesenteric, hepatic) were unchanged with training. These data indicate that vasomotor reactivity of porcine conduit-type arteries generally does not change with exercise training. An exception is the lesser contractile response to NE in renal artery, which could permit better preservation of renal blood flow during acute exercise in trained animals.