Muscle protein turnover following resistance exercise and amino acid availability are relatively well described. By contrast, the beneficial effects of different sources of intact proteins in relation to exercise need further investigation. Our objective was to compare muscle anabolic responses to a single bolus intake of whey or casein after performance of heavy resistance exercise. Young male individuals were randomly assigned to participate in two protein trials ( n = 9) or one control trial ( n = 8). Infusion of l-[1-¹³C]leucine was carried out, and either whey, casein (0.3 g/kg lean body mass), or a noncaloric control drink was ingested immediately after exercise. l-[1-¹³C]leucine-labeled whey and casein were used while muscle protein synthesis (MPS) was assessed. Blood and muscle tissue samples were collected to measure systemic hormone and amino acid concentrations, tracer enrichments, and myofibrillar protein synthesis. Western blots were used to investigate the Akt signaling pathway. Plasma insulin and branched-chain amino acid concentrations increased to a greater extent after ingestion of whey compared with casein. Myofibrillar protein synthesis was equally increased 1–6 h postexercise after whey and casein intake, both of which were higher compared with control ( P < 0.05). Phosphorylation of Akt and p70^S6Kwas increased after exercise and protein intake ( P < 0.05), but no differences were observed between the types of protein except for total 4E-BP1, which was higher after whey intake than after casein intake ( P < 0.05). In conclusion, whey and casein intake immediately after resistance exercise results in an overall equal MPS response despite temporal differences in insulin and amino acid concentrations and 4E-BP1.

Muscle mass accretion is accomplished by heavy-load resistance training. The effect of light-load resistance exercise has been far more sparsely investigated with regard to potential effect on muscle size and contractile strength. We applied a resistance exercise protocol in which the same individual trained one leg at 70% of one-repetition maximum (1RM) (heavy load, HL) while training the other leg at 15.5% 1RM (light load, LL). Eleven sedentary men (age 25 ± 1 yr) trained for 12 wk at three times/week. Before and after the intervention muscle hypertrophy was determined by magnetic resonance imaging, muscle biopsies were obtained bilaterally from vastus lateralis for determination of myosin heavy chain (MHC) composition, and maximal muscle strength was assessed by 1RM testing and in an isokinetic dynamometer at 60°/s. Quadriceps muscle cross-sectional area increased ( P < 0.05) 8 ± 1% and 3 ± 1% in HL and LL legs, respectively, with a greater gain in HL than LL ( P < 0.05). Likewise, 1RM strength increased ( P < 0.001) in both legs (HL: 36 ± 5%, LL: 19 ± 2%), albeit more so with HL ( P < 0.01). Isokinetic 60°/s muscle strength improved by 13 ± 5% ( P < 0.05) in HL but remained unchanged in LL (4 ± 5%, not significant). Finally, MHC IIX protein expression was decreased with HL but not LL, despite identical total workload in HL and LL. Our main finding was that LL resistance training was sufficient to induce a small but significant muscle hypertrophy in healthy young men. However, LL resistance training was inferior to HL training in evoking adaptive changes in muscle size and contractile strength and was insufficient to induce changes in MHC composition.

The consumption of nonsteroidal anti-inflammatory drugs (NSAIDs) is widespread among athletes when faced with muscle soreness or injury, but the effects of NSAIDs on satellite cell activity in humans are unknown. To investigate this, 14 healthy male endurance athletes (mean peak oxygen consumption 62 ml·kg⁻¹·min⁻¹) volunteered for the study, which involved running 36 km. They were divided into two groups and received either 100 mg indomethacin per day or placebo. Muscle biopsies collected before the run and on days 1, 3, and 8 afterward were analyzed for satellite cells by immunohistochemistry with the aid of neural cell adhesion molecule (NCAM) and fetal antigen-1 (FA1) antibodies. Muscle biopsies were also collected from untrained individuals for comparison. Compared with preexercise levels, a 27% increase in the number of NCAM+ cells was observed on day 8 postexercise in the placebo group ( P < 0.05), while levels remained similar at all time points in the NSAID group. No change was seen in the proportion of FA1+ cells, although lower levels were found in the muscle of endurance-trained athletes compared with untrained individuals ( P < 0.05). These results suggest that ingestion of anti-inflammatory drugs attenuates the exercise-induced increase in satellite cell number, supporting the role of the cyclooxygenase pathway in satellite cell activity.