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The effect of AQP3 deficiency on fuel selection during a single bout of exhausting exercise

  • Muscle physiology
  • Published:
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Abstract

Aquaporin-3 (AQP3) is an integral membrane protein that facilitates the transport of water and glycerol across cell membranes. However, the precise localization and function of AQP3 in skeletal muscles is currently unknown. In this study, we investigated the capacity of AQP3 knockout mice to perform a single bout of exhausting exercise and analyzed the parameters related to skeletal muscle energy metabolism during exhausting exercise. Mice were exposed to a single bout of treadmill running at a speed of 12 m/min with 10° inclination until exhaustion, and sacrificed immediately, 24 h and 48 h after exercise. Both immunohistochemistry and double immunofluorescence staining revealed that AQP3 is expressed at the cell surface with no evidence of colocalization with either AQP1 or AQP4 in hamstring skeletal muscles. When exposed to a single bout of exhaustive exercise, AQP3 knockout mice fatigued more easily with the average time to exhaustion shorter than the wild-type mice. After exhausting exercise, plasma glucose, muscle glycogen, muscle triglyceride, and muscle free fatty acid levels decreased compared with the values before exercise in both AQP3 knockout and wild-type mice. However, muscle glycerol concentration after exercise decreased in the wild-type mice, but rather increased in AQP3 knockout mice. These findings suggest that decreased glycerol efflux from the skeletal muscles in AQP3 knockout mice may result in low exercise capacity, presumably due to the limitations in the constant energy supply through hepatic gluconeogenesis from glycerol during the prolonged endurance exercise.

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Acknowledgments

We are grateful to Dr Alan Verkman (UCSF, San Francisco, CA, USA) for providing AQP3 knockout mice. We thank Drs. Cheol Soo Choi and Shi-Young Park (Korea Mouse Metabolic Phenotyping Center, Gachon University, Incheon, Korea) for assistance with analysis of exercise training for mice. This work was supported by the Pioneer Research Center Program through the National Research Foundation of Korea funded by the Ministry of Science, ICT & Future Planning (2012-0009583).

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    Authors and Affiliations

    1. Department of Physiology, College of Medicine, Dong-A University, 36 Dongadae 1-gil, Seo-gu, Busan, 602-714, South Korea

      Ju Hyun Lim & Hae-Rahn Bae

    2. Department of Coaching, College of Sports Science, Dong-A University, Busan, 604-714, South Korea

      Dong-Hwan Kim

    3. Department of Physical Medicine and Rehabilitation, College of Medicine, Dong-A University, Busan, 602-714, South Korea

      Dong Wook Han

    4. Department of Pharmacology, School of Medicine and Immune Network Pioneer Research Center, Ajou University, Suwon, 443-380, Korea

      Jong-Young Kwak

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    1. Ju Hyun Lim
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    Correspondence to Hae-Rahn Bae.

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    Ju Hyun Lim and Dong-Hwan Kim contributed equally to this work.

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    Lim, J.H., Kim, DH., Han, D.W. et al. The effect of AQP3 deficiency on fuel selection during a single bout of exhausting exercise. Pflugers Arch - Eur J Physiol 468, 1283–1293 (2016). https://doi.org/10.1007/s00424-016-1827-4

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