The effects of a single bout of exercise and exercise training on the expression of genes necessary for the transport and beta-oxidation of fatty acids (FA), together with the gene expression of transcription factors implicated in the regulation of FA homeostasis were investigated. Seven human subjects (3 male, 4 female, 28.9 +/- 3.1 yr of age, range 20-42 yr, body mass index 22.6 kg/m(2), range 17-26 kg/m(2)) underwent a 9-day exercise training program of 60 min cycling per day at 63% peak oxygen uptake (VO(2 peak); 104 +/- 14 W). On days 1 and 9 of the program, muscle biopsies were sampled from the vastus lateralis muscle at rest, at the completion of exercise, and again 3 h postexercise. Gene expression of key components of FA transport [FA translocase (FAT/CD36), plasma membrane-associated FA-binding protein], beta-oxidation [carntine palmitoyltransferase(CPT) I, beta-hydroxyacyl-CoA dehydrogenase] and transcriptional control [peroxisome proliferator-activated receptor (PPAR)alpha, PPAR gamma, PPAR gamma coactivator 1, sterol regulatory element-binding protein-1c] were unaltered by exercise when measured at the completion and at 3 h postexercise. Training increased total lipid oxidation by 24% (P < 0.05) for the 1-h cycling bout. This increased capacity for lipid oxidation was accompanied by an increased expression of FAT/CD36 and CPT I mRNA. Similarly, FAT/CD36 protein abundance was also upregulated by exercise training. We conclude that enhanced fat oxidation after exercise training is most closely associated with the genes involved in regulating FA uptake across the plasma membrane (FAT/CD36) and across the mitochondrial membrane (CPT I).

A rapid and marked capacity for changes in dietary fatty acid availability to modulate the expression of mRNA-encoding proteins is necessary for fatty acid transport and oxidative metabolism. This finding is evidence of nutrient-gene interactions in human skeletal muscle.