Effects Of Combined Carbohydrate And Protein Supplementation On Athletic Performance And Recovery Of Endurance Runners

Abstract

METHODS: Forty 4-month old C57BL/6J female mice were fed a chow diet and injected with either VCD or oil (control). After 4 weeks of injections, mice were fed either 22.5% or 1% LA diets for an additional 4 weeks until sacrifice, accounting for estrous phase. Colon samples were collected and preserved in 3% paraformaldehyde 2% sucrose solution for immunohistochemistry. Tissue staining included (1) Periodic acid-Schiff (PAS) to observe goblet cells and (2) the inflammatory marker cyclooxygenase-2 (COX-2). RESULTS: VCD-injections did not cause significant weight gain in either 22.5% (35.8±2.6 vs 31.7±1.5, p=0.524; oil vs VCD) or 1% (36.7±2.1 vs 33.2±2.2, p=0.670; oil vs VCD) LA groups. Mice consuming a 22.5% LA diet had a significantly higher number of goblet cells compared to VCD-injected mice on the same diet (18.0±0.8 vs 13.0±0.5, p=0.001; oil vs VCD) or 1% LA group (8.4±0.3, p<0.001). COX-2 expression was highest in oil-injected 22.5% LA animals. CONCLUSION: VCD did not increase weight gain as normally seen with OVX. The 22.5% LA oil-injected animals had the highest inflammation and goblet cell counts. VCD injections did increased the number of goblet cells compared to control, independent of diet. While VCD animals did not have similar body weight changes as seen in OVX, we found that inflammation manifested a compensatory response in goblet cell count which may be an attempt to protect the gut lining from inflammation.