IntroductionTo study the mechanism of lipoprotein lipase (LPL) regulation by exercise, we recruited 16 healthy athletes to undergo a 2-wk period of detraining. Fasting fat and muscle biopsies were performed both before and after the detraining period. In muscle, detraining resulted in a decrease in LPL activity in both the heparin-releasable (HR) (-45%, P < 0.05) and cellular (ex- Triglyceride-derived FFA are taken up by tissues through the action oflipoprotein lipase (LPL)'(1), which is found predominantly in adipose tissue and muscle. In human adipose tissue, little FFA is synthesized from glucose, and therefore LPL is an important enzyme for lipid storage (2). In contrast, muscle uses FFA for oxidation (3). The LPL found in both adipose tissue and muscle contributes to the clearance of circulating triglyceride-rich lipoproteins.Previous studies have examined the effects of exercise on LPL activity, using a number of different exercise regimens (reviewed in reference 4). Studies of endurance training in human subjects showed significant increases in LPL activity, both in skeletal muscle and adipose tissue, as well as in postheparin plasma. Weight loss also yields increases in adipose LPL (5), however, and many studies of exercise did not control for weight loss during the exercise regimen. Kiens et al. (6) studied six healthy men in which LPL activity was measured in the knee extensors at rest and after 8 wk of training of one leg, while the other leg was not exercised and served as a control. They found a 70% increase in LPL activity in the trained leg compared with the nontrained one.A number of previous studies have examined the mechanism of LPL regulation, and have discovered that LPL may be regulated at multiple different cellular sites (7). This study was designed to examine the mechanism of regulation of LPL by exercise in adipose tissue and muscle. As described below, short-term changes in exercise altered LPL activity in both tissues through posttranslational changes. Methods Recruitment ofstudy subjects. 16 subjects (10 men and 6 women; age, 37±2 yr) were recruited for this study, and their characteristics are shown in Table I. All subjects were in good health, were taking no medications, and were running 2 32 km/wk, or performing an equivalent amount of aerobic exercise (one subject bicycled -600 km/ week). 6 of the 16 subjects ran a marathon within 1 mo preceding the study. To participate in the study, the subjects had to agree to detrain for 2 wk, and gave informed consent to the procedures. Detraining entailed no aerobic exercise, but just activities of daily living. Compliance with these instructions was judged to be excellent. This protocol was approved by the Internal Review Board of Cedars-Sinai Medical Center, and subjects gave informed consent to the procedures.