The reproducibility of 31-phosphorus MRS measures of muscle energetics at 3 Tesla in trained men

Lindsay M Edwards, Damian J Tyler, Graham J Kemp, Renee M Dwyer, Andrew Johnson, Cameron J Holloway, Alan M Nevill, Kieran Clarke, Lindsay M Edwards, Damian J Tyler, Graham J Kemp, Renee M Dwyer, Andrew Johnson, Cameron J Holloway, Alan M Nevill, Kieran Clarke

Abstract

Objective: Magnetic resonance spectroscopy (MRS) provides an exceptional opportunity for the study of in vivo metabolism. MRS is widely used to measure phosphorus metabolites in trained muscle, although there are no published data regarding its reproducibility in this specialized cohort. Thus, the aim of this study was to assess the reproducibility of (31)P-MRS in trained skeletal muscle.

Methods: We recruited fifteen trained men (VO(2)peak = 4.7±0.8 L min(-1)/58±8 mL kg(-1) min(-1)) and performed duplicate MR experiments during plantar flexion exercise, three weeks apart.

Results: Measures of resting phosphorus metabolites were reproducible, with 1.7 mM the smallest detectable difference in phosphocreatine (PCr). Measures of metabolites during exercise were less reliable: exercising PCr had a coefficient of variation (CV) of 27% during exercise, compared with 8% at rest. Estimates of mitochondrial function were variable, but experimentally useful. The CV of PCr(1/2t) was 40%, yet much of this variance was inter-subject such that differences of <20% were detectable with n = 15, given a significance threshold of p<0.05.

Conclusions: 31-phosphorus MRS provides reproducible and experimentally useful measures of phosphorus metabolites and mitochondrial function in trained human skeletal muscle.

Conflict of interest statement

Competing Interests: The authors have declared that no competing interests exist.

Figures

Figure 1. Stacked plot showing 31-phosphorus magnetic…
Figure 1. Stacked plot showing 31-phosphorus magnetic resonance spectra acquired at 5-second intervals from the calf muscle of a single trained subject in recovery from dynamic exercise.
Figure 2. Typical experimental data (phosphocreatine concentration,…
Figure 2. Typical experimental data (phosphocreatine concentration, normalised to resting values, in recovery from dynamic exercise) and a monoexponential function (solid line), fitted as described in Methods.
Figure 3. Phosphocreatine (PCr) recovery (normalised to…
Figure 3. Phosphocreatine (PCr) recovery (normalised to resting values) in trained human calf muscle after dynamic exercise during two separate but identical tests. Values shown are means±SEM.

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