Lower muscle protein synthesis in humans with obesity concurrent with lower expression of muscle IGF1 splice variants.

OBJECTIVE: This study tested the hypothesis that expression of insulin-like growth factor 1 (IGF-1) protein and mRNA splice variants is lower in skeletal muscle of humans with obesity who have a lower mixed-muscle protein fractional synthesis rate (MMP-FSR) when compared with individuals without obesity. METHODS: The study included nine participants with obesity (OB, mean [SD],  BMI = 35 [3] kg/m2 , MMP-FSR = 0.06%/h [0.02%/h]) and nine participants without obesity (W-OB, BMI = 24 [3] kg/m2 , MMP-FSR = 0.08%/h [0.02%/h]; for both BMI and MMP-FSR p < 0.05). MMP-FSR and mitochondrial protein FSR were measured following an overnight fast. RESULTS: Along with lower MMP-FSR, OB participants displayed lower mitochondrial protein FSR (p = 0.03) compared with W-OB participants. Expression of IGF-1 (p = 0.04) and IGF-1 receptor (p < 0.01) proteins was lower in muscle of OB participants. In addition, OB participants had lower (p < 0.05) mRNA expression of IGF1 variants Eb and Ec. This study demonstrates that lower protein synthesis in muscle of humans with obesity occurs concurrently with lower expression of muscle IGF-1 and IGF-1 receptor proteins, as well as lower mRNA expression of the IGF1 splice variants. CONCLUSIONS: These findings indicate that lower protein synthesis observed in muscle of humans with obesity may result from diminished muscle IGF1 gene expression.

Lack of Increase in Muscle Mitochondrial Protein Synthesis During the Course of Aerobic Exercise and Its Recovery in the Fasting State Irrespective of Obesity.

Acute aerobic exercise induces skeletal muscle mitochondrial gene expression, which in turn can increase muscle mitochondrial protein synthesis. In this regard, the peroxisome proliferator-activated receptor γ coactivator 1α (PGC-1α), is a master regulator of mitochondrial biogenesis, and thus mitochondrial protein synthesis. However, PGC-1α expression is impaired in muscle of humans with obesity in response to acute aerobic exercise. Therefore, we sought to determine whether muscle mitochondrial protein synthesis is also impaired under the same conditions in humans with obesity. To this end, we measured mitochondrial and mixed-muscle protein synthesis in skeletal muscle of untrained subjects with (body fat: 34.7 ± 2.3%) and without (body fat: 25.3 ± 3.3%) obesity in a basal period and during a continuous period that included a 45 min cycling exercise (performed at an intensity corresponding to 65% of heart rate reserve) and a 3-h post-exercise recovery. Exercise increased PGC-1α mRNA expression in muscle of subjects without obesity, but not in subjects with obesity. However, muscle mitochondrial protein synthesis did not increase in either subject group. Similarly, mixed-muscle protein synthesis did not increase in either group. Concentrations of plasma amino acids decreased post-exercise in the subjects without obesity, but not in the subjects with obesity. We conclude that neither mitochondrial nor mixed-muscle protein synthesis increase in muscle of humans during the course of a session of aerobic exercise and its recovery period in the fasting state irrespective of obesity. Trial Registration: The study has been registered within ClinicalTrials.gov (NCT01824173).

Subpopulation-specific differences in skeletal muscle mitochondria in humans with obesity: insights from studies employing acute nutritional and exercise stimuli.

Mitochondria from skeletal muscle of humans with obesity often display alterations with respect to their morphology, proteome, biogenesis, and function. These changes in muscle mitochondria are considered to contribute to metabolic abnormalities observed in humans with obesity. Most of the evidence describing alterations in muscle mitochondria in humans with obesity, however, lacks reference to a specific subcellular location. This is despite data over the years showing differences in the morphology and function of subsarcolemmal (found near the plasma membrane) and intermyofibrillar (nested between the myofibrils) mitochondria in skeletal muscle. Recent studies reveal that impairments in mitochondrial function in obesity with respect to the subcellular location of the mitochondria in muscle are more readily evident following exposure of the skeletal muscle to physiological stimuli. In this review, we highlight the need to understand skeletal muscle mitochondria metabolism in obesity in a subpopulation-specific manner and in the presence of physiological stimuli that modify mitochondrial function in vivo. Experimental approaches employed under these conditions will allow for more precise characterization of impairments in skeletal muscle mitochondria and their implications in inducing metabolic dysfunction in human obesity.

Adenosine Triphosphate Production of Muscle Mitochondria after Acute Exercise in Lean and Obese Humans.

INTRODUCTION: Current evidence indicates mitochondrial dysfunction in humans with obesity. Acute exercise appears to enhance mitochondrial function in the muscle of nonobese humans, but its effects on mitochondrial function in muscle of humans with obesity are not known. We sought to determine whether acute aerobic exercise stimulates mitochondrial function in subsarcolemmal (SS) and intermyofibrillar (IMF) mitochondria in humans with obesity. METHODS: We assessed maximal adenosine triphosphate production rate (MAPR) and citrate synthase (CS) activity in isolated SS and IMF mitochondria from subjects with body mass index < 27 kg·m (median age, 25 yr; interquartile range, 22-39 yr) and subjects with body mass index > 32 kg·m (median age, 29 yr; interquartile range, 20-39 yr) before and 3 h after a 45-min cycling exercise at an intensity corresponding to 65% HR reserve. The SS and IMF mitochondria were isolated from muscle biopsies using differential centrifugation. Maximal adenosine triphosphate production rate and CS activities were determined using luciferase-based and spectrophotometric enzyme-based assays, respectively. RESULTS: Exercise increased MAPR in IMF mitochondria in both nonobese subjects and subjects with obesity (P < 0.05), but CS-specific activity did not change in either group (P > 0.05). Exercise increased MAPR supported by complex II in SS mitochondria, in both groups (P < 0.05), but MAPR supported by complex I or palmitate did not increase by exercise in the subjects with obesity (P > 0.05). Citrate synthase-specific activity increased in SS mitochondria in response to exercise only in nonobese subjects (P < 0.05). CONCLUSIONS: In nonobese humans, acute aerobic exercise increases MAPR in both SS and IMF mitochondria. In humans with obesity, the exercise increases MAPR in IMF mitochondria, but this response is less evident in SS mitochondria.

Obesity modifies the stoichiometry of mitochondrial proteins in a way that is distinct to the subcellular localization of the mitochondria in skeletal muscle.

BACKGROUND: Skeletal muscle mitochondrial content and function appear to be altered in obesity. Mitochondria in muscle are found in well-defined regions within cells, and they are arranged in a way that form distinct subpopulations of subsarcolemmal (SS) and intermyofibrillar (IMF) mitochondria. We sought to investigate differences in the proteomes of SS and IMF mitochondria between lean subjects and subjects with obesity. METHODS: We performed comparative proteomic analyses on SS and IMF mitochondria isolated from muscle samples obtained from lean subjects and subjects with obesity. Mitochondria were isolated using differential centrifugation, and proteins were subjected to label-free quantitative tandem mass spectrometry analyses. Collected data were evaluated for abundance of mitochondrial proteins using spectral counting. The Reactome pathway database was used to determine metabolic pathways that are altered in obesity. RESULTS: Among proteins, 73 and 41 proteins showed different (mostly lower) expression in subjects with obesity in the SS and IMF mitochondria, respectively (false discovery rate-adjusted P ≤ 0.05). We specifically found an increase in proteins forming the tricarboxylic acid cycle and electron transport chain (ETC) complex II, but a decrease in proteins forming protein complexes I and III of the ETC and adenosine triphosphate (ATP) synthase in subjects with obesity in the IMF, but not SS, mitochondria. Obesity was associated with differential effects on metabolic pathways linked to protein translation in the SS mitochondria and ATP formation in the IMF mitochondria. CONCLUSIONS: Obesity alters the expression of mitochondrial proteins regulating key metabolic processes in skeletal muscle, and these effects are distinct to mitochondrial subpopulations located in different regions of the muscle fibers. TRIAL REGISTRATION: ClinicalTrials.gov (NCT01824173).

Lower Fasted-State but Greater Increase in Muscle Protein Synthesis in Response to Elevated Plasma Amino Acids in Obesity.

OBJECTIVE: Obesity alters protein metabolism in skeletal muscle, but consistent evidence is lacking. This study compared muscle protein synthesis in adults with obesity and in lean controls in the fasted state and during an amino acid infusion. METHODS: Ten subjects with obesity (age: 36 ± 3 years; BMI: 34 ± 1 kg/m2 ) and ten controls (age: 35 ± 3 years; BMI: 23 ± 1 kg/m2 ) received an infusion of L-[2,3,3,4,5,5,5,6,6,6-2 H10 ]leucine (0.15 µmol/kg fat-free mass/min) to measure muscle protein synthesis after an overnight fast and during amino acid infusion. RESULTS: Despite greater muscle mammalian target of rapamycin phosphorylation (P ≤ 0.05), fasted-state mixed-muscle and mitochondrial protein synthesis were lower in subjects with obesity (P ≤ 0.05). However, the change in mixed-muscle protein synthesis during the amino acid infusion was 2.7-fold greater in subjects with obesity (P ≤ 0.05), accompanied by a greater change in S6 kinase-1 phosphorylation (P ≤ 0.05). The change in mitochondrial protein synthesis did not differ between groups (P > 0.05). CONCLUSIONS: Adults with obesity have reduced muscle protein synthesis in the fasted state, but this response is compensated for by a greater change in overall muscle protein synthesis during amino acid infusion.

Plasma Amino Acids Stimulate Uncoupled Respiration of Muscle Subsarcolemmal Mitochondria in Lean but Not Obese Humans.

Context: Obesity is associated with mitochondrial dysfunction in skeletal muscle. Increasing the plasma amino acid (AA) concentrations stimulates mitochondrial adenosine triphosphate (ATP) production in lean individuals. Objective: To determine whether acute elevation in plasma AAs enhances muscle mitochondrial respiration and ATP production in subsarcolemmal (SS) and intermyofibrillar (IMF) mitochondria in obese adults. Design: Assessment of SS and IMF mitochondrial function during saline (i.e., control) and AA infusions. Participants: Eligible participants were healthy lean (body mass index, <25 kg/m2; age, 37 ± 3 years; n = 10) and obese (body mass index >30 kg/m2; age 35 ± 3 years; n = 11) subjects. Intervention: Single trial of saline infusion followed by AA infusion. SS and IMF mitochondria were isolated from muscle biopsies collected at the end of the saline and AA infusions. Main Outcomes: Mitochondrial respiration and ATP production. Results: AA infusion increased adenosine 5'-diphosphate (ADP)-stimulated respiration and ATP production rates of SS mitochondria in the lean (P < 0.05), but not obese, subjects. Furthermore, AA infusion increased the uncoupled (i.e., non-ADP-stimulated) respiration of SS mitochondria in the lean subjects only (P < 0.05). AA infusion had no effect on any of these parameters in IMF mitochondria in either lean or obese subjects (P > 0.05). Conclusions: Increasing the plasma AA concentrations enhances the capacity for respiration and ATP production of muscle SS, but not IMF, mitochondria in lean individuals, in parallel with increases in uncoupled respiration. However, neither of these parameters increases in muscle SS or IMF mitochondria in obese individuals.

Subsarcolemmal mitochondria isolated with the proteolytic enzyme nagarse exhibit greater protein specific activities and functional coupling.

Skeletal muscle mitochondria are arranged as a reticulum. Insight into the functional characteristics of such structure is achieved by viewing the network as consisting of "subsarcolemmal" (SS) and "intermyofibrillar" (IMF) regions. During the decades, most, but not all, published studies have reported higher (sometimes over 2-fold) enzyme and enzyme-pathway protein-specific activities in IMF compared to SS mitochondria. We tested the hypothesis that non-mitochondrial protein contamination might account for much of the apparently lower specific activities of isolated SS mitochondria. Mouse gastrocnemii (n = 6) were suspended in isolation medium, minced, and homogenized according to procedures typically used to isolate SS mitochondria. However, the supernatant fraction, collected after the first slow-speed (800×g) centrifugation, was divided equally: one sample was exposed to nagarse (MITO+), while the other was not (MITO-). Nagarse treatment reduced total protein yield by 25%, while it increased protein-specific respiration rates (nmol O2 min-1 mg-1), by 38% under "resting" (state 4) and by 84% under maximal (state 3) conditions. Nagarse therefore increased the respiratory control ratio (state 3/state 4) by 30%. In addition, the ADP/O ratio was increased by 9% and the activity of citrate synthase (U/mg) was 49% higher. Mass spectrometry analysis indicated that the MITO+ preparation contained less contamination from non-mitochondrial proteins. We conclude that nagarse treatment of SS mitochondria removes not only non-mitochondrial proteins but also the protein of damaged mitochondria, improves indices of functional integrity, and the resulting protein-specific activities.