Sex-specific effects of fatiguing exercise on skeletal muscle passive mechanics are preserved in aging

Skeletal muscle function is central to the preservation of functional mobility. Given global shifts to an increasingly aged population, it is paramount that researchers and clinicians better understand the effectors of age-related functional decline. Muscle fatiguability acutely modifies skeletal muscle mechanics in ways that may affect joint stability. We have previously reported sex-specific reductions in cellular passive stress and modulus with fatigue in young males, but not females. Here, we assess whether older adults, who are more susceptible to fatigue during dynamic contractions, exhibit changes to cellular passive mechanics following fatiguing exercise. Muscle tissue biopsies were collected from 11 young and 11 older adults to measure passive stress and Young’s Modulus at the single fiber and bundle level. Biopsy samples were acquired from rested muscle and immediately following intermittent maximal contractions to task failure. Fatigue was associated with persistent reduction in elastic modulus that was specific to male participants, regardless of age. In muscle fiber bundles, containing both myofibrillar proteins and the extracellular matrix, fatigue-induced changes in modulus were largely negated, with the only significant change observed in young females, who demonstrated enhanced modulus with fatigue. Taken together our findings suggest a preservation of sex-based differences in the acute response to fatigue across the adult lifespan when measured at the myofilament level. However, further research is needed to understand how and whether these findings translate to the whole tissue level.