Muscle transcriptome response to 84-day bed rest with and without resistance exercise in men: the search for the residual signature of muscle atrophy

The present study concerns the effects of 90 days of sustained recumbence (bedrest) on skeletal muscle gene expression with and without exercise countermeasures. Twenty-one healthy men (age range 26-41 yr) were randomized to performed 90-d bed rest with (BRE; n=9) or without (BR; n=12) concurrent iso-inertial resistance exercise targeting the quadriceps muscle group (i.e. supine squat; 4 sets of 7 maximal concentric-eccentric repetitions every third day) employing flywheel technology. Muscle biopsies from m. vastus lateralis were obtained from all subjects before and after 84 days of bed rest.