Excessive Ethanol Intake in Mice Does Not Impair Recovery of Torque after Repeated Bouts of Eccentric Contractions

• Published in: Medicine and science in sports and exercise Vol. 55; no. 5; p. 873
• Main Authors: Moser, Samantha E, Brown, Austin M, Ganjayi, Muni Swamy, Otis, Jeffrey S, Baumann, Cory W
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: United States 01.05.2023
• Subjects: Animals; Ethanol; Female; Male; Mice; Muscle Contraction - physiology; Muscle, Skeletal - physiology; Muscular Atrophy - pathology; Torque
• ISSN: 1530-0315
• DOI: 10.1249/MSS.0000000000003118

Alcoholics develop muscle atrophy and weakness from excessive ethanol (EtOH) intake. To date, most research has examined outcomes of alcohol-induced atrophy and weakness under basal or unstressed conditions despite physical stress being a normal occurrence in a physiological setting. Therefore, this study set out to determine if recovery of torque is impaired after repetitive bouts of physical stress in skeletal muscle during excessive short-term (experiment 1) and long-term (experiment 2) EtOH consumption. Twenty male and female mice were assigned to receive either 20% EtOH in their drinking water or 100% water. Short- and long-term consumption was predetermined to be EtOH intake starting at 4 and 26 wk, respectively. Anterior crural muscles performed repeated bouts of physical stress using in vivo eccentric contractions, with tetanic isometric torque being measured immediately pre- and postinjury. A total of 10 bouts were completed with 14 d between each bout within bouts 1-5 (experiment 1) and bouts 6-10 (experiment 2), and 12 wk between bouts 5 and 6. Mice consuming EtOH had blood alcohol concentrations up to 270 mg·dL -1 . In experiment 1, five bouts of eccentric contractions did not reduce recovery of torque, regardless of sex or EtOH treatment ( P ≥ 0.173). Similarly, in experiment 2, preinjury torques did not differ from day 14 values regardless of sex or treatment ( P ≥ 0.322). However, there was a group effect in female mice for bouts 6 and 10 during experiment 2, with female EtOH mice being weaker than controls ( P ≤ 0.002). Excessive short- or long-term EtOH misuse in a mouse model did not affect the muscle's ability to regain strength after repeated bouts of eccentric contractions, suggesting that EtOH may not be as detrimental to recovery as once predicted.