Effect of aging on the relationship between capillary supply and muscle fiber size.docVIP

Vol.2, No.1, 37-42 (2013) Advances in Aging Research /10.4236/aar.2013.21005 Effect of aging on the relationship between capillary supply and muscle fiber size Yutaka Kano , Kunihiro Sakuma 1* 2 1 * 2 Department of Engineering Science, Bioscience and Technology Program, University of Electro-Communications, Tokyo, Japan; Corresponding Author: kano@pc.uec.ac.jp Research Center for Physical Fitness, Sports and Health, Toyohashi University of Technology, Toyohashi, Japan Received 2 November 2012; revised 1 December 2012; accepted 15 December 2012 ABSTRACT related to the morphological change of the capillary net- work. The proliferation of vascular endothelial cells composing capillaries means an increase in the number of capillaries; in contrast, degradation of vascular endo- thelial cells means the disappearance of capillaries [3-6]. The increase and decrease in the number of vessels is a morphological aspect peculiar to capillaries. In this paper, we will describe the morphological changes in capillaries due to aging, and the effects of endurance and resistance training during the aging period. A quantitative analysis of capillary supply to skeletal muscle is important for understanding the upper limit of the capacity for delivery of oxygen and substrates to muscle cells. It has been well documented that the number of capil- laries is altered by several factors including development, aging, and alteration of muscle activity level such as exercise training and inac- tivation. There is, however, a contradiction in animal studies for aging-related change in the number of capillaries. Human studies using bi- opsy technique also displayed an inconsistency on that point, in which capillary supply was not influenced or decreased with aging. This review discussed an inconsistency among studies for aging-related change in muscle capillar