Hindlimb Muscle Atrophy Occurs From Short-Term Undernutrition in Rats

Abstract

The purpose of this study was to examine the effect of short-term (7 days) undernutrition on Type I (soleus) and Type II (plantaris, gastrocnemius) muscles in rats. Male Sprague-Dawley rats (N = 20) were randomly assigned to one of two groups: a control group (n = 10) in which animals were allowed to have water and pellets ad libitum and an undernourished group (n = 10) in which animals were allowed to have 37% of the total food intake of the control group and water ad libitum. Body weight and food intake were measured daily. After 7 days, rats were anesthetized and the soleus, plantaris, and gastrocnemius muscles and liver were dissected. Body weight, liver weight, muscle weight, Types I and II fiber cross-sectional area, and myofibrillar protein content were determined. After 7 days of undernutrition, the undernourished group showed significant decreases (p < .05) compared to the control group in body weight, liver weight, muscle weight of soleus, plantaris, and gastrocnemius muscles, and cross-sectional areas of Types I and II fiber of the plantaris and gastrocnemius muscles.

Keywords

undernutrition muscle atrophy rats

Get full access to this article

View all access options for this article.

References

Almurshed

Grunewald

(2000a). Dietary protein does not affect overloaded skeletal muscle in rats. Journal of Nutrition, 130, 1743–1748.

Almurshed

Grunewald

(2000b). The effects of dietary energy restriction on overloaded skeletal muscle in rats. British Journal of Nutrition, 84, 697–704.

Ameredes

B. T.

Watchko

J. F.

Daood

M. J.

Rosas

J. F.

Donahoe

M. P.

Rogers

R. M.

(1999). Growth hormone improves body mass recovery with refeeding after chronic undernutrition-induced muscle atrophy in aging male rats. Journal of Nutrition, 129, 2264–2270.

Bollag

D. M.

Rozycki

M. D.

Edelstein

S. J.

(1996). Protein methods. New York, NY: Wiley-Liss.

Bullock

B. L.

Henze

R. L.

(1999). Focus on pathophysiology. Philadelphia, PA: Lippincott Williams & Wilkins.

Choe

M. A.

G. J.

Lee

Y. K.

J. H.

Choi-Kwon

Heitkemper

(2004). Effect of inactivity and undernutrition after acute ischemic stroke in a rat hindlimb muscle model. Nursing Research, 53, 283–292.

Choe

M. A.

G. J.

Lee

Y. K.

J. H.

Choi-Kwon

Heitkemper

(2006). Effect of early low-intensity exercise on rat hind-limb muscles following acute ischemic stroke. Biological Research for Nursing, 7, 163–174.

Closs

(1993). Malnutrition: The key to pressure sores? Nursing Standard, 8, 32–36.

Curtas

Chapman

Meguid

M. M.

(1989). Evaluation of nutritional status. Nursing Clinics of North America, 24, 301–313.

10.

Davalos

Ricart

Gonzalez

Soler

Marrugat

Molins

… Genis

(1996). Effect of malnutrition after acute stroke on clinical outcome. Stroke, 27, 1028–1032.

11.

Dekhuijzen

P. N.

Gayan-Ramirez

Bisschop

De Bock

Dom

Decramer

(1995). Corticosteroid treatment and nutritional deprivation cause a different pattern of atrophy in rat diaphragm. Journal of Applied Physiology, 78, 629–637.

12.

Dennis

(2000). Nutrition after stroke. British Medical Bulletin, 56, 466–475.

13.

Dupertuis

Y. M.

Kossovsky

M. P.

Kyle

U. G.

Raguso

C. A.

Genton

Pichard

(2003). Food intake in 1707 hospitalized patients: A prospective comprehensive hospital survey. Clinical Nutrition, 22, 115–123.

14.

Elia

(2000). Detection and management of undernutrition in the community. Report by the Malnutrition Advisory Group. Maidenhead, Berks: BAPEN.

15.

Heymsfield

S. B.

Stevens

Noel

McManus

Smith

Nixon

(1982). Biochemical composition of muscle in normal and semistarved human subjects: Relevance to anthropometric measurements. American Journal of Clinical Nutrition, 36, 131–142.

16.

Holecek

(2001). Effect of starvation on branched-chain alpha-keto acid dehydrogenase activity in rat heart and skeletal muscle. Physiology Research, 50, 19–24.

17.

Holmes

(2003). Undernutrition in hospital patients. Nursing Standard, 17, 45–55.

18.

Houston

M. E.

(2001). Biochemistry primer for exercise science (2nd ed.). Champaign, IL: Human Kinetics.

19.

Jun

M. S.

Kang

S. H.

Kwon

H. K.

Y. T.

Kim

J. R.

Lee

H. J.

… Choi

S. J.

(1998). Effect of oral nutritional support during radiation therapy in patients with thoracic and head/neck cancer. Journal of the Korean Cancer Association, 30, 781–789.

20.

Kasper

C. E.

White

T. P.

Maxwell

L. C.

(1990). Running during recovery from hindlimb suspension induces muscular injury. Journal of Applied Physiology, 68, 533–539.

21.

Kelly

I. E.

Tessier

Cahill

Morris

S. E.

Crumley

McLaughlin

… Lean

M. E.

(2000). Still hungry in hospital: Identifying malnutrition in acute hospital admissions. Quarterly Journal of Medicine, 93, 93–98.

22.

Kim

M. J.

Jun

M. H.

Kim

Y. H.

(1996). The study on nausea, vomiting and calorie intake for gastrectomy patients receiving cisplatin. Korean Journal of Adult Nursing, 8, 29–40.

23.

Kopelman

Lennard-Jones

(2002). Nutrition and patients: A doctor's responsibility. Clinical Medicine, 2, 391–394.

24.

Lanz

J. K.

Jr. Donahoe

Rogers

R. M.

Ontell

(1992). Effects of growth hormone on diaphragmatic recovery from malnutrition. Journal of Applied Physiology, 73, 801–805.

25.

Lee

Y. K.

Choe

M. A.

G. J.

(2006). Effects of isometric contraction training by electrostimulation on Type I and II hindlimb muscles in cerebral ischemia model rats. Journal of the Korean Academy of Nursing, 36, 1232–1241.

26.

Lewis

M. I.

Sieck

G. C.

(1990). Effect of acute nutritional deprivation on diaphragm structure and function. Journal of Applied Physiology, 68, 1938–1944.

27.

Lopez-Hellin

Gonzalo

Tejeda

Carrascal

Vila

M. R.

Abian

Garcia-Arumi

(2005). Transcriptomic and proteomic analysis of liver and muscle alterations caused by surgical stress in rats. Clinical Science, 108, 167–178.

28.

Manson

J. B.

(1996). A clinical nutritionist’s search for meaning: Why should we bother to feed the acutely ill, hospitalized patient? Nutrition, 12, 279–281.

29.

Mosoni

Malmezat

Valluy

M. C.

Houlier

M. L.

Mirand

P. P.

(1996). Muscle and liver protein synthesis adapt efficiently to food deprivation and refeeding in 12-month-old rats. Journal of Nutrition, 126, 516–522.

30.

O’Leary

M. J.

Ferguson

C. N.

Rennie

M. J.

Hinds

C. J.

Coakley

J. H.

Preedy

V. R.

(2001). Sequential changes in in vivo muscle and liver protein synthesis and plasma and tissue glutamine levels in sepsis in the rat. Clinical Science, 101, 295–304.

31.

Pennings

Boirie

Senden

J. M.

Gijsen

A. P.

Kuipers

van Loon

L. J.

(2011). Whey protein stimulates postprandial muscle protein accretion more effectively than do casein and casein hydrolysate in older men. American Journal of Clinical Nutrition, 93, 997–1005.

32.

Russell

D. M.

Walker

P. M.

Leiter

L. A.

Sima

A. A.

Tanner

W. K.

Mickle

D. A.

… Jeejeebhoy

K. N.

(1984). Metabolic and structural changes in skeletal muscle during hypocaloric dieting. American Journal of Clinical Nutrition, 39, 503–513.

33.

Ryu

S. M.

(1998). A longitudinal study of the food intake and food preference in cancer patients receiving chemotherapy (Unpublished master’s thesis). Gyeongsang National University, Gyeongsang, Korea.

34.

Sakaida

Watanabe

Kanamura

Tokunaga

Ogawa

(1987). Physiological role of skeletal muscle glycogen in starved mice. Anatomical Record, 218, 267–274.

35.

Schenker

(2003). Undernutrition in the UK. British Nutrition Foundation Nutrition Bulletin, 28, 87–120.

36.

Wilmore

(1991). Catabolic illness: Strategies for enhancing recovery. New England Journal of Medicine, 325, 695–702.

37.

Yang

Y. H.

Kwon

S. J.

Kim

C. I.

(2001). The nutritional status of the patients with cancer during chemotherapy. Journal of the Korean Academy of Nursing, 31, 978–987.

38.

Yang

Y. H.

Lee

D. S.

(2000). The relationship of anorexia, nausea, vomiting, oral intake and nutritional status in patients receiving chemotherapy. Journal of Korean Academy of Nursing, 30, 720–728.