Human muscle net K+ release during exercise is unaffected by elevated anaerobic metabolism, but reduced after prolonged acclimatization to 4,100 m

Abstract

It was investigated whether skeletal muscle K+ release is linked to the degree of anaerobic energy production. Six subjects performed an incremental bicycle exercise test in normoxic and hypoxic conditions prior to and after 2 and 8 wk of acclimatization to 4,100 m. The highest workload completed by all subjects in all trials was 260 W. With acute hypoxic exposure prior to acclimatization, venous plasma [K+] was lower ( P < 0.05) in normoxia (4.9 ± 0.1 mM) than hypoxia (5.2 ± 0.2 mM) at 260 W, but similar at exhaustion, which occurred at 400 ± 9 W and 307 ± 7 W ( P < 0.05), respectively. At the same absolute exercise intensity, leg net K+ release was unaffected by hypoxic exposure independent of acclimatization. After 8 wk of acclimatization, no difference existed in venous plasma [K+] between the normoxic and hypoxic trial, either at submaximal intensities or at exhaustion (360 ± 14 W vs. 313 ± 8 W; P < 0.05). At the same absolute exercise intensity, leg net K+ release was less ( P < 0.001) than prior to acclimatization and reached negative values in both hypoxic and normoxic conditions after acclimatization. Moreover, the reduction in plasma volume during exercise relative to rest was less ( P < 0.01) in normoxic than hypoxic conditions, irrespective of the degree of acclimatization (at 260 W prior to acclimatization: −4.9 ± 0.8% in normoxia and −10.0 ± 0.4% in hypoxia). It is concluded that leg net K+ release is unrelated to anaerobic energy production and that acclimatization reduces leg net K+ release during exercise.