Structure and function of human muscle fibres and muscle proteome in physically active older men.

Contradictory results have been reported on the impact of ageing on structure and functions of skeletal muscle fibres likely due to complex interplay between ageing and other phenomena such as disuse and diseases. Here we recruited healthy, physically and socially active young (YO) and elderly (EL) men in order to study aging per se without the confounding effects of impaired physical function. In vivo analyses of quadriceps and in vitro analyses of vastus lateralis muscle biopsies were performed. In EL subjects, our results show that: (i) quadriceps volume, maximum voluntary torque (MVC), and patellar tendon force (Ft) were significantly lower; (ii) muscle fibres went through significant atrophy and impairment of specific force (Po/CSA) and unloaded shortening velocity (Vo); (iii) myosin/actin ratio and myosin content in individual muscle fibres were not altered; (iv) muscle proteome went through quantitative adaptations, namely an up-regulation of the content of several groups of proteins among which myofibrillar proteins and antioxidant defence systems; (v) muscle proteome went through qualitative adaptations, namely phosphorylation of several proteins, including Myosin Light Chain-2 slow and Troponin T and carbonylation of Myosin Heavy Chains. The present results indicate that impairment of individual muscle fibres structure and function is a major feature of ageing per se and that qualitative adaptations of muscle proteome are likely more involved than quantitative adaptations in determining such phenomenon.