Vastus lateralis muscle gene expression after local physical deconditioning and exercise training

The leg of healthy volunteers was locally deconditioned using three weeks of unilateral lower limb suspension (ULLS). The extremely deconditioned legs of subjects with a spinal cord injury (SCI) were trained using eight weeks of functional electrical stimulation (FES) exercise, 2-3 times per week (total 20 sessions). These models for local (in)activity were used to study changes in gene expression level of: A) Long-term deconditioning: before FES versus before ULLS (=SCI versus control); B) Short-term deconditioning: after ULLS versus before ULLS; and C) Exercise training: after FES versus before FES. RNA was isolated from six healthy subjects before and after ULLS deconditioning, and three subjects with SCI before and after FES exercise training.