Aging is inevitable and is the primary risk factor for developing cardiovascular disease. The molecular mechanisms that drive vascular dysfunction in the context of aging are incompletely understood. The overall hypothesis is that the age-related decline in endothelial cell (EC) autophagy leads to arterial dysfunction. This study will determine whether physiological shear-stress affects autophagosome formation and nitrous oxide (NO) generation in ECs.

It is hypothesized that genetic autophagy suppression prevents shear-stress induced purinergic signaling to endothelial nitrous oxide synthase (eNOS) and this pathway will be evaluated in primary arterial ECs obtained from older adult (> 60 years) and adult (18-30 years) subjects before and following rhythmic handgrip exercise that elevates brachial artery shear-rate similarly in both groups. ECs will be used to quantify markers of EC autophagy, eNOS activation, and NO generation. The study will also determine whether exercise-training attenuates the aging-associated decline in EC autophagy, and whether intact autophagy is required for training-induced vascular improvements. To evaluate this potential, it will be determined whether one-limb rhythmic handgrip exercise training by older adult (> 60 y) human subjects is sufficient to elevate basal and shear-induced EC autophagy initiation, eNOS activation, and NO generation vs. the contralateral sedentary limb. Results from this work have tremendous potential to reveal a new therapeutic target and approach for restoring / maintaining vascular function in the aging population.

Inclusion criteria:

• Candidates must be between 18 and 90 y of age
• Candidates must be free of overt disease as assessed by a) medical history; b) standard blood chemistries (chem. 7 panel), c) ECG at rest; d) limb vascular examination (ankle-brachial BP index > 0.9); e) resting BP < 140/90 mmHg; and f) skinfold % body fat assessment.
• Subjects will have a body mass index (BMI) between 19 and 30 and have plasma glucose concentrations < 7.0 mmol/L under fasting conditions and < 11.1 mmol/L at 120 minutes of an oral glucose tolerance test (OGTT)

Exclusion criteria

• Candidates <18 or >90 y of age
• Candidates demonstrating abnormal ECG, ankle-brachial BP index <0.9, resting BP > 140/90
• Candidates demonstrating a BMI <19 or > 30
• Candidates demonstrating plasma glucose concentrations > 7.0 mmol/L under fasting conditions and > 11.1 mmol/L at 120 minutes of an oral glucose tolerance test (OGTT)
• Candidates demonstrating dyslipidemia (plasma total cholesterol > 240 mg/dl with LDL-cholesterol > 160 mg/dl)
• Candidates reporting a history of myocardial infarction, unstable cardiac ischemia, recent cardiac catheterization, carotid artery disease, transient ischemic attack
• Women taking hormone replacement therapy (HRT) currently or in the preceding year will be excluded from the proposed studies due to the direct vascular effects of HRT.

Upon written request, a limited, de-identified, anonymized dataset will be created pursuant to the Data use Agreement. This DUA will limit use of the dataset and prohibit the recipient from taking steps to identify individuals whose data is included in the dataset. This dataset will be provided through a password-protected, machine-readable database format. Whenever possible, the dataset will be delivered through physical transfer of a storage medium.