The effects of a combination of the antioxidant astaxanthin (AX) and electrical stimulation (ES) on muscle mass and mitochondrial oxidative capacity were investigated in the soleus muscle of hindlimb unloaded rats. Five groups of male Sprague-Dawley rats were used; control, 1-week hindlimb unloading (HU), HU + AX, HU + ES, and HU + AX + ES. Respective rats in the AX groups received 50-mg/kg AX twice daily during HU. Calf muscles of rats in the ES groups were electrically stimulated for 240 s/day during HU. One-week HU decreased muscle mass along with decreased FoxO3a phosphorylation and increased ubiquitinated proteins expressions, decreased oxidative enzymatic activity accompanied with decline in PGC-1α protein expression, and increased reactive oxygen species production. However, the combination treatment could synergistically attenuate/suppress all HU-related changes, suggesting protective effects on muscle atrophy and decreased muscle oxidative capacity due to chronic neuromuscular inactivity.

中文翻译：

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补充虾青素和电刺激对大鼠后肢卸载过程中肌肉萎缩和比目鱼肌氧化能力降低的影响。


在后肢无负荷大鼠的比目鱼肌中研究了抗氧化剂虾青素（AX）和电刺激（ES）组合对肌肉质量和线粒体氧化能力的影响。使用五组雄性斯普拉格-道利大鼠；对照、1 周后肢卸载 (HU)、HU + AX、HU + ES 和 HU + AX + ES。 HU 期间，AX 组中的各只大鼠每天接受 50 mg/kg AX 两次。在 HU 期间，对 ES 组大鼠的小腿肌肉进行 240 秒/天的电刺激。 1 周 HU 降低了肌肉质量，同时降低了 FoxO3a 磷酸化，增加了泛素化蛋白表达，降低了氧化酶活性，伴随着 PGC-1α 蛋白表达下降，并增加了活性氧的产生。然而，联合治疗可以协同减弱/抑制所有 HU 相关的变化，这表明对肌肉萎缩和由于慢性神经肌肉不活动导致的肌肉氧化能力降低有保护作用。