Skeletal muscle fiber type-specific expressions of mechanosensors integrin-linked kinase, talin, and vinculin and their modulation by loading and environmental conditions in humans.

Mechanosensors control muscle integrity as demonstrated in mice. However, no information is available in human muscle about the distribution of mechanosensors and their adaptations to mechanical loading and environmental conditions (hypoxia). Here, we hypothesized that mechanosensors show fiber-type-specific distributions and that loading and environmental conditions specifically regulate mechanosensors. We randomly subjected 28 healthy males to one of the following groups (n = 7 each) consisting of nine loading sessions within 3 weeks: normoxia moderate (NM), normoxia intensive (NI), hypoxia moderate (HM), and hypoxia intensive (HI). We took six biopsies: pre (T0), 4 h (T1), and 24 h (T2) after the third as well as 4 h (T3), 24 h (T4), and 72 h (T5) after the ninth training session. We analyzed subjects' maximal oxygen consumption (V̇O max), maximal power output (Pmax), muscle fiber types and cross-sectional areas (CSA), fiber-type-specific integrin-linked kinase (ILK) localizations as well as ILK, vinculin and talin protein and gene expressions in dependence on loading and environmental conditions. V̇O max increased upon NM and HM, Pmax upon all interventions. Fiber types did not change, whereas CSA increased upon NI and HI, but decreased upon HM. ILK showed a type 2-specific fiber type localization. ILK, vinculin, and talin protein and gene expressions differed depending on loading and environmental conditions. Our data demonstrate that mechanosensors show fiber type-specific distributions and that exercise intensities rather than environmental variables influence their profiles in human muscles. These data are the first of their kind in human muscle and indicate that mechanosensors manage the mechanosensing at a fiber-type-specific resolution and that the intensity of mechanical stimulation has a major impact.