Reduced exercise capacity occurs before intrinsic skeletal muscle dysfunction in experimental rat models of pulmonary hypertension.

ABSTRACT: Reduced exercise capacity in pulmonary hypertension (PH) significantly impacts quality of life. However, the cause of reduced exercise capacity in PH remains unclear. The objective of this study was to investigate whether intrinsic skeletal muscle changes are causative in reduced exercise capacity in PH using preclinical PH rat models with different PH severity. PH was induced in adult Sprague-Dawley (SD) or Fischer (CDF) rats with one dose of SU5416 (20 mg/kg) injection, followed by 3 weeks of hypoxia and additional 0-4 weeks of normoxia exposure. Control s rats were injected with vehicle and housed in normoxia. Echocardiography was performed to assess cardiac function. Exercise capacity was assessed by VO₂ max. Skeletal muscle structural changes (atrophy, fiber type switching,

SUBMITTER: Zhang P 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC10993156 | biostudies-literature | 2024 Apr

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature