Training decreases muscle glycogen turnover during exercise

The present study was undertaken to determine the effects of endurance training on glycogen kinetics during exercise. A new model describing glycogen kinetics was applied to quantitate the rates of synthesis and degradation of glycogen. Trained and untrained rats were infused with a 25% glucose solution with 6-³H-glucose and U-¹⁴C-lactate at 1.5 and 0.5 μCi · min⁻¹ (where 1 Ci = 3.7 × 10¹⁰ Bq), respectively, during rest (30 min) and exercise (60 min). Blood samples were taken at 10-min intervals starting just prior to isotopic infusion, until the cessation of exercise. Tissues harvested after the cessation of exercise were muscle (soleus, deep, and superficial vastus lateralis, gastrocnemius), liver, and heart. Tissue glycogen was quantitated and analyzed for incorporation of ³H and ¹⁴C via liquid scintillation counting. There were no net decreases in muscle glycogen concentration from trained rats, whereas muscle glycogen concentration decreased to as much as 64% (P < 0.05) in soleus in muscles from untrained rats after exercise. Liver glycogen decreased in both trained (30%) and untrained (40%) rats. Glycogen specific activity increased in all tissues after exercise indicating isotope incorporation and, thus, glycogen synthesis during exercise. There were no differences in muscle glycogen synthesis rates between trained and untrained rats after exercise. However, training decreased muscle glycogen degradation rates in total muscle (i.e., the sum of the degradation rates of all of the muscles sampled) tenfold (P < 0.05). We have applied a model to describe glycogen kinetics in relation to glucose and lactate metabolism during exercise in trained and untrained rats. Training significantly decreases muscle glycogen degradation rates during exercise. Accepted: 22 May 1998     

Exercise training improves muscle insulin resistance but not insulin receptor signaling in obese Zucker rats.

Exercise training improves skeletal muscle insulin sensitivity in the obese Zucker rat. The purpose of this study was to investigate whether the improvement in insulin action in response to exercise training is associated with enhanced insulin receptor signaling. Obese Zucker rats were trained for 7 wk and studied by using the hindlimb-perfusion technique 24 h, 96 h, or 7 days after their last exercise training bout. Insulin-stimulated glucose uptake (traced with 2-deoxyglucose) was significantly reduced in untrained obese Zucker rats compared with lean controls (2.2 +/- 0.17 vs. 5.4 +/- 0.46 micromol x g(-1) x h(-1)). Glucose uptake was normalized 24 h after the last exercise bout (4.9 +/- 0.41 micromol x g(-1) x h(-1)) and remained significantly elevated above the untrained obese Zucker rats for 7 days. However, exercise training did not increase insulin receptor or insulin receptor substrate-1 (IRS-1) tyrosine phosphorylation, phosphatidylinositol 3-kinase (PI3-kinase) activity associated with IRS-1 or tyrosine phosphorylated immunoprecipitates, or Akt serine phosphorylation. These results are consistent with the hypothesis that, in obese Zucker rats, adaptations occur during training that lead to improved insulin-stimulated muscle glucose uptake without affecting insulin receptor signaling through the PI3-kinase pathway.     

Increased insulin-stimulated Akt pSer473 and cytosolic SHP2 protein abundance in human skeletal muscle following acute exercise and short-term training.

The purpose of the present study was to determine in human skeletal muscle whether a single exercise bout and 7 days of consecutive endurance (cycling) training 1) increased insulin-stimulated Akt pSer(473) and 2) altered the abundance of the protein tyrosine phosphatases (PTPases), PTP1B and SHP2. In healthy, untrained men (n = 8; 24 +/- 1 yr), glucose infusion rate during a hyperinsulinemic euglycemic clamp, when compared with untrained values, was not improved 24 h following a single 60-min bout of endurance cycling but was significantly increased ( approximately 30%; P < 0.05) 24 h following completion of 7 days of exercise training. Insulin-stimulated Akt pSer(473) was approximately 50% higher (P < 0.05) 24 h following the acute bout of exercise, with this effect remaining after 7 days of training (P < 0.05). Insulin-stimulated insulin receptor and insulin receptor substrate-1 tyrosine phosphorylation were not altered 24 h after acute exercise and short-term training. Insulin did not acutely regulate the localization of the PTPases, PTP1B or SHP2, although cytosolic protein abundance of SHP2 was increased (P < 0.05; main effect) 24 h following acute exercise and short-term training. In conclusion, insulin-sensitive Akt pSer(473) and cytosolic SHP2 protein abundance are higher after acute exercise and short-term training, and this effect appears largely due to the residual effects of the last bout of prior exercise. The significance of exercise-induced alterations in cytosolic SHP2 and insulin-stimulated Akt pSer(473) on the improvement in insulin sensitivity requires further elucidation.     

Interactive effect of exercise training and growth hormone administration on glucose tolerance and muscle GLUT4 protein expression in rats

The insulin-resistance effect of growth hormone (GH) administration has been frequently reported. The present study investigated the effect of GH administration on glucose tolerance and muscle GLUT4 protein expression in exercise-trained and untrained rats. Forty-eight rats were weight-matched and assigned to the following 4 groups: control, GH, exercise training, and exercise training + GH groups. After 2 weeks of GH injections (65 µg/kg/day) and exercise training, the glucose tolerance and insulin response were measured in these rats. The GLUT4 protein level, glycogen storage, and citrate synthase activity were determined in red gastrocnemius and plantaris muscles. Daily GH administration elevated the curves of the oral glucose tolerance test and insulin response compared with those of saline-injected control rats. Furthermore, exercise training completely eliminated this GH-induced insulin resistance as determined 18 h after the last bout of exercise training. Additionally, exercise training significantly increased muscle glycogen storage and GLUT4 protein levels. GH administration did not affect the GLUT4 protein and glycogen storage increases induced by exercise training, but the citrate synthase activity in the plantaris muscle was further elevated by GH administration to a level above that induced by training. In conclusion, this is the first study that demonstrates that regular exercise training prevents GH-induced insulin-resistance side effect in rats.     

Exercise training exacerbates tourniquet ischemia-induced decreases in GLUT4 expression and muscle atrophy in rats

The current study determined the interactive effects of ischemia and exercise training on glycogen storage and GLUT4 expression in skeletal muscle. For the first experiment, an acute 1-h tourniquet ischemia was applied to one hindlimb of both the 1-week exercise-trained and untrained rats. The contralateral hindlimb served as control. For the second experiment, 1-h ischemia was applied daily for 1 week to both trained (5 h post-exercise) and untrained rats. GLUT4 mRNA was not affected by acute ischemia, but exercise training lowered GLUT4 mRNA in the acute ischemic muscle. GLUT4 protein levels were elevated by exercise training, but not in the acute ischemic muscle. Exercise training elevated muscle glycogen above untrained levels, but this increase was reversed by chronic ischemia. GLUT4 mRNA and protein levels were dramatically reduced by chronic ischemia, regardless of whether the animals were exercise-trained or not. Chronic ischemia significantly reduced plantaris muscle mass, with a greater decrease found in the exercise-trained rats. In conclusion, the exercise training effect on muscle GLUT4 protein expression was prevented by acute ischemia. Furthermore, chronic ischemia-induced muscle atrophy was exacerbated by exercise training. This result implicates that exercise training could be detrimental to skeletal muscle with severely impaired microcirculation.     

Effect of exercise training and chronic glyburide treatment on glucose homeostasis in diabetic rats.

Exercise training and sulfonylurea treatment, either individually or in combination, were evaluated for their effects on plasma glucose concentrations, oral glucose tolerance, and glucose clearance in the perfused hindquarter of diabetic rats. Female rats that were injected with streptozocin (45 mg/kg iv) and had plasma glucose concentrations between 11 and 25 mM were considered diabetic and divided into sedentary, glyburide-treated, exercise-trained, and glyburide-treated plus exercise-trained groups. The sedentary streptozocin-treated rats were severely diabetic, as indicated by elevated glucose concentrations, impaired insulin response during oral glucose tolerance tests, and lower rates of glucose clearance in hindlimb skeletal muscle. Neither 8 wk of exercise training nor 4 wk of glyburide treatment alone improved these parameters. In contrast, the diabetic rats that were both trained and treated with glyburide showed some improvement in glucose homeostasis, as evidenced by lower plasma glucose concentrations, an enhanced insulin response to an oral glucose load, and a decrease in the severity of skeletal muscle insulin resistance compared with the diabetic controls. These data suggest that glyburide treatment or exercise training alone does not alter glucose homeostasis in severely insulin-deficient diabetic rats; however, the combination of exercise training and glyburide treatment may interact to improve glucose homeostasis in these animals.     

Effects of exercise training and ACE inhibition on insulin action in rat skeletal muscle.

Our laboratory has demonstrated (Steen MS, Foianini KR, Youngblood EB, Kinnick TR, Jacob S, and Henriksen EJ, J Appl Physiol 86: 2044-2051, 1999) that exercise training and treatment with the angiotensin-converting enzyme (ACE) inhibitor trandolapril interact to improve insulin action in insulin-resistant obese Zucker rats. The present study was undertaken to determine whether a similar interactive effect of these interventions is manifest in an animal model of normal insulin sensitivity. Lean Zucker (Fa/-) rats were assigned to either a sedentary, trandolapril-treated (1 mg. kg(-1). day(-1) for 6 wk), exercise-trained (treadmill running for 6 wk), or combined trandolapril-treated and exercise-trained group. Exercise training alone or in combination with trandolapril significantly (P < 0.05) increased peak oxygen consumption by 26-32%. Compared with sedentary controls, exercise training alone or in combination with ACE inhibitor caused smaller areas under the curve for glucose (27-37%) and insulin (41-44%) responses during an oral glucose tolerance test. Exercise training alone or in combination with trandolapril also improved insulin-stimulated glucose transport in isolated epitrochlearis (33-50%) and soleus (58-66%) muscles. The increases due to exercise training alone or in combination with trandolapril were associated with enhanced muscle GLUT-4 protein levels and total hexokinase activities. However, there was no interactive effect of exercise training and ACE inhibition observed on insulin action. These results indicate that, in rats with normal insulin sensitivity, exercise training improves oral glucose tolerance and insulin-stimulated muscle glucose transport, whereas ACE inhibition has no effect. Moreover, the beneficial interactive effects of exercise training and ACE inhibition on these parameters are not apparent in lean Zucker rats and, therefore, are restricted to conditions of insulin resistance.     

Exercise training increases ERK2 activity in skeletal muscle of obese Zucker rats.

Acute exercise and training increase insulin action in skeletal muscle, but the mechanism responsible for this effect is unknown. Activation of the insulin receptor initiates signaling through both the phosphatidylinositol (PI) 3-kinase and the mitogen-activated protein kinase [MAPK, also referred to as extracellular signal-regulated kinases (ERK1/2)] pathways. Acute exercise has no effect on the PI3-kinase pathway signaling elements but does activate the MAPK pathway, which may play a role in the adaptation of muscle to exercise. It is unknown whether training produces a chronic effect on basal activity or insulin response of the MAPK pathway. The present study was undertaken to determine whether exercise training improves the activity of the MAPK pathway or its response to insulin in obese Zucker rats, a well-characterized model of insulin resistance. To accomplish this, obese Zucker rats were studied by using the hindlimb perfusion method with or without 7 wk of treadmill training. Activation of the MAPK pathway was determined in gastrocnemius muscles exposed in situ to insulin. Compared with lean Zucker rats, untrained obese Zucker rats had reduced basal and insulin-stimulated activities of ERK2 and its downstream target p90 ribosomal S6 kinase (RSK2). Seven weeks of training significantly increased basal and insulin-stimulated ERK2 and RSK2 activities, as well as insulin stimulation of MAPK kinase activity. This effect was maintained for at least 96 h in the case of ERK2. The training-induced increase in basal ERK2 activity was correlated with the increase in citrate synthase activity. Therefore, 7 wk of training increases basal and insulin-stimulated ERK2 activity. The increase in basal ERK2 activity may be related to the response of muscle to training.     

Metformin and exercise reduce muscle FAT/CD36 and lipid accumulation and blunt the progression of high-fat diet-induced hyperglycemia

Derangements in skeletal muscle fatty acid (FA) metabolism associated with insulin resistance in obesity appear to involve decreased FA oxidation and increased accumulation of lipids such as ceramides and diacylglycerol (DAG). We investigated potential lipid-related mechanisms of metformin (Met) and/or exercise for blunting the progression of hyperglycemia/hyperinsulinemia and skeletal muscle insulin resistance in female Zucker diabetic fatty rats (ZDF), a high-fat (HF) diet-induced model of diabetes. Lean and ZDF rats consumed control or HF diet (48 kcal %fat) alone or with Met (500 mg/kg), with treadmill exercise, or with both exercise and Met interventions for 8 wk. HF-fed ZDF rats developed hyperglycemia (mean: 24.4 +/- 2.1 mM), impairments in muscle insulin-stimulated glucose transport, increases in the FA transporter FAT/CD36, and increases in total ceramide and DAG content. The development of hyperglycemia was significantly attenuated with all interventions, as was skeletal muscle FAT/CD36 abundance and ceramide and DAG content. Interestingly, improvements in insulin-stimulated glucose transport and increased GLUT4 transporter expression in isolated muscle were seen only in conditions that included exercise training. Reduced FA oxidation and increased triacylglycerol synthesis in isolated muscle were observed with all ZDF rats compared with lean rats (P < 0.01) and were unaltered by therapeutic intervention. However, exercise did induce modest increases in peroxisome proliferator-activated receptor-gamma coactivator-1alpha, citrate synthase, and beta-hydroxyacyl-CoA dehydrogenase activity. Thus reduction of skeletal muscle FAT/CD36 and content of ceramide and DAG may be important mechanisms by which exercise training blunts the progression of diet-induced insulin resistance in skeletal muscle.     

Invited review: Effects of acute exercise and exercise training on insulin resistance.

Insulin resistance of skeletal muscle glucose transport is a key defect in the development of impaired glucose tolerance and Type 2 diabetes. It is well established that both an acute bout of exercise and chronic endurance exercise training can have beneficial effects on insulin action in insulin-resistant states. This review summarizes the present state of knowledge regarding these effects in the obese Zucker rat, a widely used rodent model of obesity-associated insulin resistance, and in insulin-resistant humans with impaired glucose tolerance or Type 2 diabetes. A single bout of prolonged aerobic exercise (30-60 min at approximately 60-70% of maximal oxygen consumption) can significantly lower plasma glucose levels, owing to normal contraction-induced stimulation of GLUT-4 glucose transporter translocation and glucose transport activity in insulin-resistant skeletal muscle. However, little is currently known about the effects of acute exercise on muscle insulin signaling in the postexercise state in insulin-resistant individuals. A well-established adaptive response to exercise training in conditions of insulin resistance is improved glucose tolerance and enhanced skeletal muscle insulin sensitivity of glucose transport. This training-induced enhancement of insulin action is associated with upregulation of specific components of the glucose transport system in insulin-resistant muscle and includes increased protein expression of GLUT-4 and insulin receptor substrate-1. It is clear that further investigations are needed to further elucidate the specific molecular mechanisms underlying the beneficial effects of acute exercise and exercise training on the glucose transport system in insulin-resistant mammalian skeletal muscle.     

Interactions of exercise training and ACE inhibition on insulin action in obese Zucker rats.

Exercise training or chronic treatment with angiotensin-converting enzyme (ACE) inhibitors can ameliorate glucose intolerance, insulin resistance of muscle glucose metabolism, and dyslipidemia associated with the obese Zucker rat. The purpose of the present study was to determine the interactions of exercise training and ACE inhibition (trandolapril) on these parameters in the obese Zucker rat. Animals were assigned to a sedentary control, a trandolapril-treated (1 mg. kg-1. day-1 for 6 wk), an exercise-trained (treadmill running for 6 wk), or a combined trandolapril-treated and exercise-trained group. Exercise training, alone or with trandolapril, significantly (P < 0. 05) increased peak O2 consumption by 31-34%. Similar decreases in fasting plasma insulin (34%) and free fatty acids (31%) occurred with exercise training alone or in combination with trandolapril. Compared with control, exercise training or trandolapril alone caused smaller areas under the curve (AUC) for glucose (12-14%) and insulin (28-33%) during an oral glucose tolerance test. The largest decreases in the glucose AUC (40%) and insulin AUC (53%) were observed in the combined group. Similarly, whereas exercise training or trandolapril alone improved maximally activated insulin-stimulated glucose transport in isolated epitrochlearis (26-34%) or soleus (39-41%) muscles, the greatest improvements in insulin action (67 and 107%, respectively) were seen in the combined group and were associated with similarly enhanced muscle GLUT-4 protein and total hexokinase levels. In conclusion, these results indicate combined exercise training and ACE inhibition improve oral glucose tolerance and insulin-stimulated muscle glucose transport to a greater extent than does either intervention alone.     

Duration of Improved Muscle Glucose Uptake After Acute Exercise in Obese Zucker Rats

Skeletal muscle is insulin resistant in the obese Zucker rat. Endurance training reduces muscle insulin resistance, but the effects of a single acute exercise session on muscle insulin resistance in the obese Zucker rat are unknown. Therefore, insulin responsiveness of muscle glucose uptake was measured in 15-week-old obese rats either 1, 48, or 72 hours after two hours of intermittent exercise (3030 min; work:rest). Hindlimbs of sedentary lean (LS) and obese (OS) rats and exercised obese (OE) rats were perfused after a 10-hour fast under both basal (0 mU.ml^?1) and maximal (20 mU.ml^?1) insulin concentrations to measure net glucose uptake. Insulin responsiveness of net glucose uptake was significantly reduced in OS compared to LS (8.5 ± 1.6 vs 15.3 ± 2.0 μmol.g^?1.h^?1, respectively). Compared to OS, insulin responsiveness of net glucose uptake was significantly increased by 56% and 80% at 1 hour and 48 hours after acute exercise. However, 72 hours after acute exercise, the increased insulin responsiveness of net glucose uptake was no longer evident. These results indicate that improved responsiveness of muscle glucose uptake persists for at least 48 hours after two hours of acute intermittent exercise in 15-week-old obese Zucker rats. (OBESITY RESEARCH 1993; 1:295–302)     

Regulation of glycogen synthase activity in the isolated mouse soleus muscle effect of insulin,epinephrine, glucose and anti-insulin receptor antibodies

The effects of insulin, epinephrine, glucose and anti-insulin receptor antibodies on enzymes involved in the regulation of glycogen synthesis were investigared in the isolated mouse soleus muscle. Insulin maximally increased the percentage of glycogen synthase active form after 15 min in the absence of glucose in the extracellular medium; half-maximal and maximal effects were obtained with 1.5 and 33 nM insulin, respectively. The basal percentage of glycogen phosphorylase active form was not altered by insulin. Antibodies to the insulin receptor had similar effects to those of insulin on both enzymes. The percentage of glycogen synthase active form was maximally decreased and that of phosphorylase maximally increased after a 2 min exposure to epinephrine in the absence of extracellular glucose. Glucose alone had no effect on muscle glycogen synthase. When muscles were incubated with insulin (33 nM) plus glucose (20 mM) for 5–10 min, the increase in the percentage of glycogen synthase active form was greater than with insulin alone. This enhancing effect of glucose on insulin activation of glycogen synthase disappeared after 20 min. The results suggest the existence of two mechanisms whereby insulin activates muscle glycogen synthase. The main effect is operative in the absence of extracellular glucose and occurs at insulin concentrations close to the physiological range. The other effect requires glucose and may result from the stimulation by insulin of glucose transport and/or metabolism.     

Regulation of glycogen synthase activity in the isolated mouse soleus muscle. Effect of insulin, epinephrine, glucose and anti-insulin receptor antibodies

The effects of insulin, epinephrine, glucose and anti-insulin receptor antibodies on enzymes involved in the regulation of glycogen synthesis were investigated in the isolated mouse soleus muscle. Insulin maximally increased the percentage of glycogen synthase active form after 15 min in the absence of glucose in the extracellular medium; half-maximal and maximal effects were obtained with 1.5 and 33 mM insulin, respectively. The basal percentage of glycogen phosphorylase active form was not altered by insulin. Antibodies to the insulin receptor had similar effects to those of insulin on both enzymes. The percentage of glycogen synthase active form was maximally decreased and that of phosphorylase maximally increased after a 2 min exposure to epinephrine in the absence of extracellular glucose. Glucose alone had no effect on muscle glycogen synthase. When muscles were incubated with insulin (33 nM) plus glucose (20 mM) for 5-10 min, the increase in the percentage of glycogen synthase active form was greater than with insulin alone. This enhancing effect of glucose on insulin activation of glycogen synthase disappeared after 20 min. The results suggest the existence of two mechanisms whereby insulin activates muscle glycogen synthase. The main effect is operative in the absence of extracellular glucose and occurs at insulin concentrations close to the physiological range. The other effect requires glucose and may result from the stimulation by insulin of glucose transport and/or metabolism.     

Pancreatic insulin response in relation to exercise training

The present study was undertaken to measure the effects of exercise training on pancreatic insulin secretion in response to glucose and nonglucose stimuli. Wistar female rats with an initial body weight of approximately 180 g were divided into trained and sedentary groups. After a period of 10 weeks of training, glucose-, tolbutamide-, and arginine-tolerance tests were performed in vivo in both trained and untrained animals. The tests were done in nonanesthetized animals 40 h after the last exercise bout. It was found that exercise training leads to a diminution of plasma insulin levels after either glucose, tolbutamide, or arginine administration. These results present direct evidence that exercise training reduces plasma insulin response not only to glucose but also to nonglucidic secretagogues.     

Contraction of insulin-resistant muscle normalizes insulin action in association with increased mitochondrial activity and fatty acid catabolism

Acute exercise can reverse muscle insulin resistance, but the mechanism(s) of action are unknown. With the use of a hindlimb perfusion model, we have found that acute contraction restores insulin-stimulated glucose uptake in muscle of obese Zucker rats to levels witnessed in lean controls. Previous reports have suggested that obesity-related insulin resistance stems from lipid oversupply and tissue accumulation of toxic lipid intermediates that impair insulin signaling. We reasoned that contraction might activate hydrolysis and oxidation of intramuscular lipids, thus alleviating "lipotoxicity" and priming the muscle for enhanced insulin action. Indeed, analysis of mitochondrial-derived acyl-carnitine esters suggested that contraction caused robust increases in -oxidative flux and mitochondrial oxidation. As predicted, contraction decreased intramuscular triacylglycerol content; however, diacylglycerol and long chain acyl-CoAs, lipid intermediates presumed to trigger insulin resistance, were either unchanged or increased. In muscles from obese animals, insulin-stimulated tyrosine phosphorylation of the insulin receptor and insulin receptor substrate-1 remained impaired after contraction, whereas phosphorylation of the downstream signaling protein, AS160, was partially restored. These results suggest that acute exercise enables diabetic muscle to circumvent upstream defects in insulin signal transduction via mechanisms that are more tightly coupled to increased mitochondrial energy metabolism than the lowering of diacylglycerol and long chain acyl-CoA. skeletal muscle; intramuscular lipids; signaling; exercise     

Effects of high-fat diet and exercise training on intracellular glucose metabolism in rats

We examined the effects of high-fat diet (HFD) and exercise training on insulin-stimulated whole body glucose fluxes and several key steps of glucose metabolism in skeletal muscle. Rats were maintained for 3 wk on either low-fat (LFD) or high-fat diet with or without exercise training (swimming for 3 h per day). After the 3-wk diet/exercise treatments, animals underwent hyperinsulinemic euglycemic clamp experiments for measurements of insulin-stimulated whole body glucose fluxes. In addition, muscle samples were taken at the end of the clamps for measurements of glucose 6-phosphate (G-6-P) and GLUT-4 protein contents, hexokinase, and glycogen synthase (GS) activities. Insulin-stimulated glucose uptake was decreased by HFD and increased by exercise training (P < 0.01 for both). The opposite effects of HFD and exercise training on insulin-stimulated glucose uptake were associated with similar increases in muscle G-6-P levels (P < 0.05 for both). However, the increase in G-6-P level was accompanied by decreased GS activity without changes in GLUT-4 protein content and hexokinase activities in the HFD group. In contrast, the increase in G-6-P level in the exercise-trained group was accompanied by increased GLUT-4 protein content and hexokinase II (cytosolic) and GS activities. These results suggest that HFD and exercise training affect insulin sensitivity by acting predominantly on different steps of intracellular glucose metabolism. High-fat feeding appears to induce insulin resistance by affecting predominantly steps distal to G-6-P (e.g., glycolysis and glycogen synthesis). Exercise training affected multiple steps of glucose metabolism both proximal and distal to G-6-P. However, increased muscle G-6-P levels in the face of increased glucose metabolic fluxes suggest that the effect of exercise training is quantitatively more prominent on the steps proximal to G-6-P (i.e., glucose transport and phosphorylation).