Sex-based comparisons of muscle cellular adaptations after 10 weeks of progressive resistance training in middle-aged adults

Resistance training combined with adequate protein intake supports skeletal muscle strength and hypertrophy. These adaptations are supported by the action of muscle stem cells (MuSCs), which are regulated, in part, by fibro-adipogenic progenitors (FAPs) and circulating factors delivered through capillaries. It is unclear if middle-aged males and females have similar adaptations to resistance training at the cellular level. To address this gap, 27 (13 males, 14 females) middle-aged (40–64 yr) adults participated in 10 wk of whole body resistance training with dietary counseling. Muscle biopsies were collected from the vastus lateralis pre- and posttraining. Type II fiber cross-sectional area increased similarly with training in both sexes (P = 0.014). MuSC content was not altered with training; however, training increased PDGFRa ^þ/CD90 ^þ FAP content (P < 0.0001) and reduced PDGFRa ^þ/CD90 FAP content (P = 0.044), independent of sex. The number of CD31 ^þ capillaries per fiber also increased similarly in both sexes (P < 0.05). These results suggest that muscle fiber hypertrophy, stem/progenitor cell, and capillary adaptations are similar between middle-aged males and females in response to whole body resistance training.