Effect of Acute Interval Walking with Blood Flow Restriction on 4EBP1, ERK, p38, and Myostatin of Skeletal Muscle in Inactive Men

Background: There is mounting evidence that moderate‑ to high‑intensity exercise training has a key role in skeletal muscle adaption. Low‑intensity exercise with Blood flow restriction (BFR) associated with unique effect on muscle hypertrophy. Aims: The aim of this study was to investigate the effect of acute interval walking with BFR on phosphorylation of 4EBP1, P38, ERK, and myostatin (MSTN) of skeletal muscle in inactive men. Materials and Methods: Five healthy inactive men were participated in the study. Training protocol includes five intervals 2‑min walking with BFR at 50%–60% maximum heart rate and 1 min at rest. All samples were collected immediately before exercise and 3 h after BFR training. Phosphorylation of 4EBP1, P38, and ERK skeletal muscle was evaluated by Western blotting and MSTN by Elayza test. Dependent t‑test was used to analyze the data after subtracting the posttest score from the pretest. Results: However, there was a significant difference between the pre‑ and post‑test for 4EBP1 (P = 0.001), ERK (P = 0.049), and MSTN (P = 0.0009). There was no significant difference between the pre‑ and post‑test of P38 (P = 0/452) (P ≥ 0.05). Conclusion: As a result, acute interval walking with BFR activates mammalian target of rapamycin and mitogen‑activated protein kinase pathways signaling in inactive men.