Effect of Aerobic Exercise with Blood Flow Restriction on Mitochondrial Dynamics Proteins of Human Skeletal Muscles

Background: Aerobic exercise with Blood Flow Restriction (BFR) plays an important role in skeletal muscle adaptation; however, the effects of this type of exercise on mitochondrial dynamics proteins are unclear. Objective: The purpose of this study was to investigate the effect of aerobic exercise with and without BFR on mitochondrial dynamics proteins of human skeletal muscles.  Methods: Participants were 5 young men (mean age, 33.4±2.30 years; mean weight, 79.64±10.49 kg; BMI, 26.24±2.27 kg/m2). They performed aerobic exercise with BFR (AE+BFR) and without BFR (AE) in two separate days at five 2-min sessions and 1 min rest between the sessions. Western Blot method was used to measure the protein levels of Mitofusin 2 (MFN2) and Dynamin-Related Protein 1 (DRP1) in skeletal muscles. Results: AE+BFR (1.02±0.05 vs. 0.77±0.03) and AE (0.65±0.08 vs 0.57±0.03) significantly increased the mean MFN2 protein level compared to the pretest mean values (P<0.05). AE+BFR (3.54±0.46 and 5.01±0.66) and AE (3.38±0.38 vs. 2.82±0.59) also significantly reduced the mean DRP1 level (P<0.05). Moreover, AE+BFR had greater significant effect on the mean levels of MFN2 (0.24±0.01 vs. 0.08±0.04) and DRP1 (-1.46±0.22 vs. -0.33±0.12) compared to AE (P<0.05). Conclusion: It seems that aerobic exercise with BFR is a strong stimulant for the improvement of skeletal muscle mitochondrial dynamics.