Exercise training induces mitochondrial biogenesis, but the time course of molecular sequelae that accompany repetitive training stimuli remains to be determined in human skeletal muscle. Therefore, throughout a seven-session, high-intensity interval training period that increaseḋ V O 2 max (12%), we examined the time course of responses of (a) mitochondrial biogenesis and fusion and fission proteins, and (b) selected transcriptional and mitochondrial mRNAs and proteins in human muscle. Muscle biopsies were obtained 4 and 24 h after the 1st, 3rd, 5th and 7th training session. PGC-1α mRNA was increased >10-fold 4 h after the 1st session and returned to control within 24 h. This 'saw-tooth' pattern continued until the 7th bout, with smaller increases after each bout. In contrast, PGC-1α protein was increased 24 h after the 1st bout (23%) and plateaued at +30-40% between the 3rd and 7th bout. Increases in PGC-1β mRNA and protein were more delayed and smaller, and did not persist. Distinct patterns of increases were observed in peroxisome proliferator-activated receptor (PPAR) α and γ protein (1 session), PPAR β/δ mRNA and protein (5 sessions) and nuclear respiratory factor-2 protein (3 sessions) while no changes occurred in mitochondrial transcription factor A protein. Citrate synthase (CS) and β-HAD mRNA were rapidly increased (1 session), followed 2 sessions later (session 3) by increases in CS and β-HAD activities, and mitochondrial DNA. Changes in COX-IV mRNA (session 3) and protein (session 5) were more delayed. Training also increased mitochondrial fission proteins (fission protein-1, >2-fold; dynamin-related protein-1, 47%) and the fusion protein mitofusin-1 (35%) but not mitofusin-2. This study has provided the following novel information: (a) the training-induced increases in transcriptional and mitochondrial proteins appear to result from the cumulative effects of transient bursts in their mRNAs, (b) training-induced mitochondrial biogenesis appears to involve re-modelling in addition to increased mitochondrial content, and (c) the 'transcriptional capacity' of human muscle is extremely sensitive, being activated by one training bout.

Short (<10 days) periods of muscle disuse, often necessary for recovery from illness or injury, lead to various negative health consequences. The current study investigated mechanisms underlying disuse-induced insulin resistance, taking into account muscle atrophy. Ten healthy, young males (age: 23 ± 1 years; BMI: 23.0 ± 0.9 kg · m(-2)) were subjected to 1 week of strict bed rest. Prior to and after bed rest, lean body mass (dual-energy X-ray absorptiometry) and quadriceps cross-sectional area (CSA; computed tomography) were assessed, and peak oxygen uptake (VO2peak) and leg strength were determined. Whole-body insulin sensitivity was measured using a hyperinsulinemic-euglycemic clamp. Additionally, muscle biopsies were collected to assess muscle lipid (fraction) content and various markers of mitochondrial and vascular content. Bed rest resulted in 1.4 ± 0.2 kg lean tissue loss and a 3.2 ± 0.9% decline in quadriceps CSA (both P < 0.01). VO2peak and one-repetition maximum declined by 6.4 ± 2.3 (P < 0.05) and 6.9 ± 1.4% (P < 0.01), respectively. Bed rest induced a 29 ± 5% decrease in whole-body insulin sensitivity (P < 0.01). This was accompanied by a decline in muscle oxidative capacity, without alterations in skeletal muscle lipid content or saturation level, markers of oxidative stress, or capillary density. In conclusion, 1 week of bed rest substantially reduces skeletal muscle mass and lowers whole-body insulin sensitivity, without affecting mechanisms implicated in high-fat diet-induced insulin resistance.

PGC-1␣ overexpression in skeletal muscle, in vivo, has yielded disappointing and unexpected effects, including disrupted cellular integrity and insulin resistance. These unanticipated results may stem from an excessive PGC-1␣ overexpression in transgenic animals. Therefore, we examined the effects of a modest PGC-1␣ overexpression in a single rat muscle, in vivo, on fuel-handling proteins and insulin sensitivity. We also examined whether modest PGC-1␣ overexpression selectively targeted subsarcolemmal (SS) mitochondrial proteins and fatty acid oxidation, because SS mitochondria are metabolically more plastic than intermyofibrillar (IMF) mitochondria. Among metabolically heterogeneous rat hindlimb muscles, PGC-1␣ was highly correlated with their oxidative fiber content and with substrate transport proteins (GLUT4, FABPpm, and FAT/ CD36) and mitochondrial proteins (COXIV and mTFA) but not with insulin-signaling proteins (phosphatidylinositol 3-kinase, IRS-1, and Akt2), nor with 5-AMP-activated protein kinase, ␣2 subunit, and HSL. Transfection of PGC-1␣ into the red (RTA) and white tibialis anterior (WTA) compartments of the tibialis anterior muscle increased PGC-1␣ protein by 23-25%. This also induced the up-regulation of transport proteins (FAT/CD36, 35-195%; GLUT4, 20 -32%) and 5-AMP-activated protein kinase, ␣2 subunit (37-48%), but not other proteins (FABPpm, IRS-1, phosphatidylinositol 3-kinase, Akt2, and HSL). SS and IMF mitochondrial proteins were also up-regulated, including COXIV (15-75%), FAT/CD36 (17-30%), and mTFA (15-85%). PGC-1␣ overexpression also increased palmitate oxidation in SS (RTA, ؉116%; WTA, ؉40%) but not in IMF mitochondria, and increased insulin-stimulated phosphorylation of AKT2 (28 -43%) and rates of glucose transport (RTA, ؉20%; WTA, ؉38%). Thus, in skeletal muscle in vivo, a modest PGC-1␣ overexpression up-regulated selected plasmalemmal and mitochondrial fuel-handling proteins, increased SS (not IMF) mitochondrial fatty acid oxidation, and improved insulin sensitivity.

TMŽ . Atlas cDNA cell interaction arrays CLONTECH were used to examine degenerate tissue from four patients with Achilles tendon disorders, in order to identify changes in expression of genes important in cell᎐cell and cell᎐matrix Ž . interactions. The greatest difference between normal post-mortem and degenerate tissue samples was in the level of MMP-3 Ž . stromelysin mRNA, which was down-regulated in all the degenerate samples. Quantitative RT-PCR assay of RNA extracted from paired 'normal' and degenerate Achilles tendon tissue samples taken from tendons during surgery mirrored the results of the arrays. Levels of MMP-3 mRNA were lower, whereas levels of type-I and type-III collagen mRNAs were significantly higher, in the degenerate compared to the 'normal' samples. Immunoblotting of proteins extracted from the same tendon samples showed that three of four normal tissue samples taken from individuals without apparent tendon disorder had much higher levels of MMP-3 protein than 'normal' or degenerate samples from patients with tendinosis. We suggest that MMP-3 may play an important role in the regulation of tendon extracellular matrix degradation and tissue remodelling. ᮊ

No abstract

Mitochondrial fatty acid transport is a rate-limiting step in long chain fatty acid (LCFA) oxidation. In rat skeletal muscle, the transport of LCFA at the level of mitochondria is regulated by carnitine palmitoyltransferase I (CPTI) activity and the content of malonyl-CoA (M-CoA); however, this relationship is not consistently observed in humans. Recently, fatty acid translocase (FAT)/CD36 was identified on mitochondria isolated from rat and human skeletal muscle and found to be involved in LCFA oxidation. The present study investigated the effects of exercise (120 min of cycling at ∼60%V O 2 peak ) on CPTI palmitoyl-CoA and M-CoA kinetics, and on the presence and functional significance of FAT/CD36 on skeletal muscle mitochondria. Whole body fat oxidation rates progressively increased during exercise (P < 0.05), and concomitantly M-CoA inhibition of CPTI was progressively attenuated. Compared to rest, 120 min of cycling reduced (P < 0.05) the inhibition of 0.7, 2, 5 and 10 μM M-CoA by 16%, 21%, 30% and 34%, respectively. Whole body fat oxidation and palmitate oxidation rates in isolated mitochondria progressively increased (P < 0.05) during exercise, and were positively correlated (r = 0.78). Mitochondrial FAT/CD36 protein increased by 63% (P < 0.05) during exercise and was significantly (P < 0.05) correlated with mitochondrial palmitate oxidation rates at all time points (r = 0.41). However, the strongest (P < 0.05) correlation was observed following 120 min of cycling (r = 0.63). Importantly, the addition of sulfo-N -succimidyloleate, a specific inhibitor of FAT/CD36, reduced mitochondrial palmitate oxidation to ∼20%, indicating FAT/CD36 is functionally significant with respect to LCFA oxidation. We hypothesize that exercise-induced increases in fatty acid oxidation occur as a result of an increased ability to transport LCFA into mitochondria. We further suggest that decreased CPTI M-CoA sensitivity and increased mitochondrial FAT/CD36 protein are both important for increasing whole body fatty acid oxidation during prolonged exercise.

Transport of long-chain fatty acids across the cell membrane has long been thought to occur by passive diffusion. However, in recent years there has been a fundamental shift in understanding, and it is now generally recognized that fatty acids cross the cell membrane via a protein-mediated mechanism. Membrane-associated fatty acid-binding proteins ('fatty acid transporters') not only facilitate but also regulate cellular fatty acid uptake, for instance through their inducible rapid (and reversible) translocation from intracellular storage pools to the cell membrane. A number of fatty acid transporters have been identified, including CD36, plasma membrane-associated fatty acid-binding protein (FABP(pm)), and a family of fatty acid transport proteins (FATP1-6). Fatty acid transporters are also implicated in metabolic disease, such as insulin resistance and type-2 diabetes. In this report we briefly review current understanding of the mechanism of transmembrane fatty acid transport, and the function of fatty acid transporters in healthy cardiac and skeletal muscle, and in insulin resistance/type-2 diabetes. Fatty acid transporters hold promise as a future target to rectify lipid fluxes in the body and regain metabolic homeostasis.

In obese rat muscle transport of palmitate is increased and is channeled to triacylglycerol storage despite an increase in mitochondrial palmitate oxidation. Am J Physiol Endocrinol Metab 296: E738 -