The Relationship Between Skeletal Muscle Mitochondrial Function and Cardiac Workload During Exercise in Young Healthy Subjects
6 affiliations
- 1Research Unit of Biomedicine and Internal Medicine, Faculty of Medicine, University of Oulu, Oulu, Finland.
- 2Medical Research Center Oulu, Oulu University Hospital and University of Oulu, Oulu, Finland.
- 3Research Program for Clinical and Molecular Metabolism, Faculty of Medicine, University of Helsinki, Helsinki, Finland.
- 4Faculty of Sport and Health Sciences, University of Jyväskylä, Jyväskylä, Finland.
- 5Biocenter of Oulu, University of Oulu, Oulu, Finland.
- 6Pediatric Gastroenterology and Metabolic Diseases, Pediatric Institute, Poznan University of Medical Sciences, Poznań, Poland.
Abstract
Exaggerated cardiac workload responses to incremental exercise are associated with the development of hypertension and future cardiovascular events. We hypothesized that skeletal muscle mitochondrial function is associated with cardiac workload, quantified as Rate Pressure Product (RPP), during exercise. Healthy adults (n = 18; 9 females; age 25 ± 4 years) performed a maximal exercise test on a cycle ergometer. The test began at 0 W and followed an incremental protocol starting at 40 W, with load increases every 2 minutes until exhaustion. Breath-by-breath gas exchange was measured to determine peak oxygen uptake and the respiratory compensatory point (RCP). Heart rate (HR) and systolic blood pressure (BP) were recorded at each load to calculate RPP. The cardiac workload response to exercise was defined as the change in RPP from 0 W to the intensity corresponding to RCP (ΔRPP). Muscle biopsies from the vastus lateralis were collected on separate days to assess mitochondrial respiration. ΔRPP from 0 W to RCP intensity was 18181 ± 2147 mmHg·bpm and Complex I mediated respiration was 31.9 ± 13.7 pmol·mg⁻¹ s⁻¹. ΔRPP was correlated only with Complex I (r = -0.69, p = 0.002) and sex (r = 0.50, p = 0.035). In a forward stepwise linear regression analysis with ΔRPP as the dependent variable and baseline RPP, sex, and complex I mediated respiration as predictors, complex I mediated respiration was the only variable significantly associated with ΔRPP (adjusted R² = 0.44; unstandardized β = -107; 95% CI:-167 to -47; p = 0.002). The cardiac workload response to exercise is strongly associated with skeletal muscle mitochondrial function in young normotensive individuals.
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BibTeX
@article{jeskanen2026relationship,
title = {{The Relationship Between Skeletal Muscle Mitochondrial Function and Cardiac Workload During Exercise in Young Healthy Subjects}},
author = {Tommi Jeskanen and Venla P Ylinen and Rasmus I P Valtonen and Ville Stenbäck and Kari A Mäkelä and Risto Kerkelä and Juhani M Junttila and Noora Pöllänen and Riikka Kivelä and Kalle Kolari and Eija Pirinen and Karl-Heinz Herzig and Mikko P Tulppo},
journal = {European journal of sport science},
year = {2026},
month = oct,
doi = {10.1002/ejsc.70267},
url = {https://europepmc.org/article/PMC/PMC13718819},
note = {CC BY-NC-ND},
}
RIS
TY - JOUR
TI - The Relationship Between Skeletal Muscle Mitochondrial Function and Cardiac Workload During Exercise in Young Healthy Subjects
AU - Tommi Jeskanen
AU - Venla P Ylinen
AU - Rasmus I P Valtonen
AU - Ville Stenbäck
AU - Kari A Mäkelä
AU - Risto Kerkelä
AU - Juhani M Junttila
AU - Noora Pöllänen
AU - Riikka Kivelä
AU - Kalle Kolari
AU - Eija Pirinen
AU - Karl-Heinz Herzig
AU - Mikko P Tulppo
PY - 2026
DA - 2026/10/29
JO - European journal of sport science
DO - 10.1002/ejsc.70267
UR - https://europepmc.org/article/PMC/PMC13718819
AB - Exaggerated cardiac workload responses to incremental exercise are associated with the development of hypertension and future cardiovascular events. We hypothesized that skeletal muscle mitochondrial function is associated with cardiac workload, quantified as Rate Pressure Product (RPP), during exercise. Healthy adults (n = 18; 9 females; age 25 ± 4 years) performed a maximal exercise test on a cycle ergometer. The test began at 0 W and followed an incremental protocol starting at 40 W, with load increases every 2 minutes until exhaustion. Breath-by-breath gas exchange was measured to determine peak oxygen uptake and the respiratory compensatory point (RCP). Heart rate (HR) and systolic blood pressure (BP) were recorded at each load to calculate RPP. The cardiac workload response to exercise was defined as the change in RPP from 0 W to the intensity corresponding to RCP (ΔRPP). Muscle biopsies from the vastus lateralis were collected on separate days to assess mitochondrial respiration. ΔRPP from 0 W to RCP intensity was 18181 ± 2147 mmHg·bpm and Complex I mediated respiration was 31.9 ± 13.7 pmol·mg⁻¹ s⁻¹. ΔRPP was correlated only with Complex I (r = -0.69, p = 0.002) and sex (r = 0.50, p = 0.035). In a forward stepwise linear regression analysis with ΔRPP as the dependent variable and baseline RPP, sex, and complex I mediated respiration as predictors, complex I mediated respiration was the only variable significantly associated with ΔRPP (adjusted R² = 0.44; unstandardized β = -107; 95% CI:-167 to -47; p = 0.002). The cardiac workload response to exercise is strongly associated with skeletal muscle mitochondrial function in young normotensive individuals.
SN - 1746-1391
SN - 1536-7290
ER -