Abstract
Purpose
Smaller lipid droplet morphology and GLUT 4 protein expression have been associated with greater muscle oxidative capacity and glucose uptake, respectively. The main purpose of this study was to determine the effect of an acute long-duration exercise bout on skeletal muscle lipid droplet morphology, GLUT4, perilipin 3, and perilipin 5 expressions.
Methods
Twenty healthy men (age 24.0 ± 1.0 years, BMI 23.6 ± 0.4 kg/m2) were recruited for the study. The participants were subjected to an acute bout of exercise on a cycle ergometer at 50% VO2max until they reached a total energy expenditure of 650 kcal. The study was conducted after an overnight fast. Vastus lateralis muscle biopsies were obtained before and immediately after exercise for immunohistochemical analysis to determine lipid, perilipin 3, perilipin 5, and GLUT4 protein contents while GLUT 4 mRNA was quantified using RT-qPCR.
Results
Lipid droplet size decreased whereas total intramyocellular lipid content tended to reduce (p = 0.07) after an acute bout of endurance exercise. The density of smaller lipid droplets in the peripheral sarcoplasmic region significantly increased (0.584 ± 0.04 to 0.638 ± 0.08 AU; p = 0.01) while larger lipid droplets significantly decreased (p < 0.05). GLUT4 mRNA tended to increase (p = 0.05). There were no significant changes in GLUT 4, perilipin 3, and perilipin 5 protein levels.
Conclusion
The study demonstrates that exercise may impact metabolism by enhancing the quantity of smaller lipid droplets over larger lipid droplets.
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Data availability
The datasets generated during and/or analyzed during the current study are available from the corresponding author on reasonable request.
Abbreviations
- AU:
-
Arbitrary unit
- BMI:
-
Body mass index
- DXA:
-
Dual energy X-ray absorptiometry
- FFA:
-
Free fatty acids
- GLUT4:
-
Glucose transporter type 4
- IMCL:
-
Intramyocellular lipid
- mRNA:
-
Messenger ribonucleic acid
- PBRC:
-
Pennington Biomedical Research Center
- PLIN:
-
Perilipin associated protein
- RER:
-
Respiratory exchange ratio
- ROI:
-
Regions of interest
- RPE:
-
Rate of perceived exertion
- RT-qPCR:
-
Reverse transcription-quantitative polymerase chain reaction
- SEM:
-
Standard error of mean
- TAG:
-
Triacylglycerols
- VO2max:
-
Maximal aerobic capacity
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Acknowledgments
We are grateful to the participants, research associates and nursing staff of The Pennington Biomedical Research Center. In addition, we would like to thank Cesar Meza for his assistance in data analysis and all members of the MiNER Laboratory.
Funding
This study was partly funded by a Young Scientist Award 2008 from The Obesity Society (to J.E.G.), with additional support from P30-DK-072476 and R01-DK-060412 (to E.R). V.R. was supported by the National Institute of General Medical Sciences of the National Institutes of Health grant TL4GM118971.
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Conceived and designed research—SB, JEG, JDC, ER. Performed experiments—SB, JNA, VR, KSR, JDC, JEG. Analyzed data—SB, JNA. Interpreted results of experiments—SB, JNA. Prepared figures—JNA. Drafted manuscript—SB, JNA. Edited and revised manuscript—SB, JNA. Approved final version of manuscript—SB, JNA, VR, KSR, AVR, JDC, JEG, ER.
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Approval was obtained from the ethics committee of the Pennington Biomedical Research Center (PBRC). The procedures used in this study adhere to the tenets of the Declaration of Helsinki.
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Informed consent was obtained from all individual participants included in the study.
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Communicated by Michael I Lindinger.
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Bajpeyi, S., Apaflo, J.N., Rosas, V. et al. Effect of an acute long-duration exercise bout on skeletal muscle lipid droplet morphology, GLUT 4 protein, and perilipin protein expression. Eur J Appl Physiol 123, 2771–2778 (2023). https://doi.org/10.1007/s00421-023-05266-5
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s00421-023-05266-5