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Related Experiment Videos

Skeletal muscle ECF pH error signal for exercise ventilatory control

A B Evans1, L W Tsai, D A Oelberg

  • 1Pulmonary and Critical Care Unit, Massachusetts General Hospital, Boston, USA.

Journal of Applied Physiology (Bethesda, Md. : 1985)
|February 6, 1998
PubMed
Summary

Changes in extracellular fluid pH (pHe) in exercising muscle signal the brain to increase breathing. This study shows muscle pHe drops during exercise, meeting criteria to mediate the exercise ventilatory reflex.

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Area of Science:

  • Exercise Physiology
  • Autonomic Nervous System Regulation
  • Skeletal Muscle Metabolism

Background:

  • Autonomic reflexes link muscle activity to breathing control.
  • Neural afferents in muscle interstitial fluid are suspected mediators.
  • The role of muscle extracellular fluid pH (pHe) in this reflex is unclear.

Purpose of the Study:

  • To investigate if muscle pHe changes serve as an error signal for exercise ventilatory control.
  • To determine if muscle pHe meets criteria for a ventilatory metaboreflex mediator.

Main Methods:

  • Electrically induced skeletal muscle contraction in rats.
  • Measurement of muscle intracellular and extracellular pH using 31P-magnetic resonance spectroscopy.
  • Utilized phenylphosphonic acid as a pH-sensitive marker in the extracellular fluid.

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Main Results:

  • Muscle intracellular pH decreased significantly during stimulation.
  • Muscle extracellular fluid pH (pHe) dropped immediately and remained acidic throughout exercise.
  • Arterial pH showed no net change despite induced lactic acidosis and respiratory alkalosis.

Conclusions:

  • Muscle extracellular fluid pH (pHe) changes during exercise meet the temporal and qualitative requirements to act as a ventilatory metaboreflex mediator.
  • Muscle pHe, not arterial pH, appears to be a key signal for exercise ventilatory control.
  • Ion-transport mechanisms are likely involved in regulating muscle pH during exercise.