Oral glutamine supplementation attenuates inflammation and oxidative stress-mediated skeletal muscle protein content degradation in immobilized rats: Role of 70 kDa heat shock protein

Skeletal muscle disuse results in myofibrillar atrophy and protein degradation, via inflammatory and oxidative stress-mediated NF-kB signaling pathway activation. Nutritional interventions, such as L-glutamine (GLN) supplementation have shown antioxidant properties and cytoprotective effects through the modulation on the 70-kDa heat shock protein (HSP70) expression. However, these GLN-mediated effects on cell signaling pathways and biochemical mechanisms that control the myofibrillar protein content degradation in muscle disuse situations are poorly known yet. This study investigated the effects of oral GLN plus L-alanine (ALA; GLN + ALA-solution) supplementation, either in their free or dipeptide (L-alanyl-L-glutamine-DIP) form, on GLN-glutathione (GSH) axis and cytoprotection mediated by HSP70 protein expression in the slow-twitch soleus and fast-twitch gastrocnemius skeletal muscle of rats submitted to 14-days of hindlimb immobilization-induced disuse muscle atrophy. Forty-eight Wistar rats were distributed into 6 groups: hindlimb immobilized (IMOB group) and hindlimb immobilized orally supplemented with either GLN (1 g kg(-1)) plus ALA (0.61 g kg(-1)) (GLN + ALA-IMOB group) or 1.49 g kg(-1) of DIP (DIP-IMOB group) and; no-immobilized (CTRL) and no-immobilized supplemented GLN + ALA and DIP baselines groups. All animals, including CTRL and IMOB rats (water), were supplemented via intragastric gavage for 14 days, concomitantly to immobilization period. Plasma and muscle GLN levels, lipid (thiobarbituric acid reactive substances-TBARS) and protein (carbonyl) peroxidation, erythrocyte concentration of reduced GSH and GSH disulfide (GSSG), plasma and muscle pro-inflammatory TNF-alpha levels, muscle IKK alpha/beta NF-kB signaling pathway and, the myofibrillar protein content (MPC) were measured. The MPC was significantly lower in IMOB rats, compared to CTRL, GLN + ALA, and DIP animals (p < 0.05). This finding was associated with reduced plasma and muscle GLN concentration, equally in IMOB animals. Conversely, both GLN + ALA and DIP supplementation restored plasma and muscle GLN levels, which equilibrated GSH and intracellular redox status (GSSG/GSH ratio) in erythrocytes and skeletal muscle even as, increased muscle HSP70 protein expression; attenuating oxidative stress and TNF-alpha-mediated NF-kB pathway activation, fact that reverberated on reduction of MPC degradation in GLN + ALA-IMOB and DIP-IMOB animals (p < 0.05). In conclusion, the findings shown herein support the oral GLN + ALA and DIP supplementations as a therapeutic and effective nutritional alternative to attenuate the deleterious effects of the skeletal muscle protein degradation induced by muscle disuse.