The Effect of Carbohydrate Ingestion Following Eccentric Resistance Exercise on AKT/mTOR and ERK Pathways: A Randomized, Double-Blinded, Crossover Study.

PURPOSE: To determine the acute effects of carbohydrate (CHO) ingestion following a bout of maximal eccentric resistance exercise on key anabolic kinases of mammalian target of rapamycin and extracellular signal-regulated kinase (ERK) pathways. The authors' hypothesis was that the activation of anabolic signaling pathways known to be upregulated by resistance exercise would be further stimulated by the physiological hyperinsulinemia resulting from CHO supplementation. METHODS: Ten resistance-trained men were randomized in a crossover, double-blind, placebo (PLA)-controlled manner to ingest either a noncaloric PLA or 3 g/kg of CHO beverage throughout recovery from resistance exercise. Muscle biopsies were collected at rest, immediately after a single bout of intense lower body resistance exercise, and after 3 hr of recovery. RESULTS: CHO ingestion elevated plasma glucose and insulin concentrations throughout recovery compared with PLA ingestion. The ERK pathway (phosphorylation of ERK1/2 [Thr202/Tyr204], RSK [Ser380], and p70S6K [Thr421/Ser424]) was markedly activated immediately after resistance exercise, without any effect of CHO supplementation. The phosphorylation state of AKT (Thr308) was unchanged postexercise in the PLA trial and increased at 3 hr of recovery above resting with ingestion of CHO compared with PLA. Despite stimulating-marked phosphorylation of AKT, CHO ingestion did not enhance resistance exercise-induced phosphorylation of p70S6K (Thr389) and rpS6 (Ser235/236 and Ser240/244). CONCLUSION: CHO supplementation after resistance exercise and hyperinsulinemia does not influence the ERK pathway nor the mTORC1 target p70S6K and its downstream proteins, despite the increased AKT phosphorylation.

Intramuscular inflammatory and resolving lipid profile responses to an acute bout of resistance exercise in men.

Lipid mediators including classical arachidonic acid-derived eicosanoids (e.g. prostaglandins and leukotrienes) and more recently identified specialized pro-resolving-mediator metabolites of the omega-3 fatty acids play essential roles in initiation, self-limitation, and active resolution of acute inflammatory responses. In this study, we examined the bioactive lipid mediator profile of human skeletal muscle at rest and following acute resistance exercise. Twelve male subjects completed a single bout of maximal isokinetic unilateral knee extension exercise and muscle biopsies were taken from the m.vastus lateralis before and at 2, 4, and 24 h of recovery. Muscle tissue lipid mediator profile was analyzed via liquid chromatography-mass spectrometry (LC-MS)-based targeted lipidomics. At 2 h postexercise, there was an increased intramuscular abundance of cyclooxygenase (COX)-derived thromboxanes (TXB2 : 3.33 fold) and prostaglandins (PGE2 : 2.52 fold and PGF2α : 1.77 fold). Resistance exercise also transiently increased muscle concentrations of lipoxygenase (LOX) pathway-derived leukotrienes (12-Oxo LTB4 : 1.49 fold and 20-COOH LTB4 : 2.91 fold), monohydroxy-eicosatetraenoic acids (5-HETE: 2.66 fold, 12-HETE: 2.83 fold, and 15-HETE: 1.69 fold) and monohydroxy-docosahexaenoic acids (4-HDoHE: 1.69 fold, 7-HDoHE: 1.58 fold and 14-HDoHE: 2.35 fold). Furthermore, the abundance of CYP pathway-derived epoxy- and dihydroxy-eicosatrienoic acids was increased in 2 h postexercise biopsies (5,6-EpETrE: 2.48 fold, 11,12-DiHETrE: 1.66 fold and 14,15-DiHETrE: 2.23 fold). These data reveal a range of bioactive lipid mediators as present within human skeletal muscle tissue and demonstrate that acute resistance exercise transiently stimulates the local production of both proinflammatory eicosanoids and pathway markers in specialized proresolving mediator biosynthesis circuits.

Early inflammatory and myogenic responses to resistance exercise in the elderly.

INTRODUCTION AND METHODS: This study compared changes in myokine and myogenic genes following resistance exercise (3 sets of 12 repetitions of maximal unilateral knee extension) in 20 elderly men (67.8 ± 1.0 years) and 15 elderly women (67.2 ± 1.5 years). RESULTS: Monocyte chemotactic protein (MCP)-1, macrophage inhibitory protein (MIP)-1ß, interleukin (IL)-6 and MyoD mRNA increased significantly (P < 0.05), whereas myogenin and myostatin mRNA decreased significantly after exercise in both groups. Macrophage-1 (Mac-1) and MCP-3 mRNA did not change significantly after exercise in either group. MIP-1ß, Mac-1 and myostatin mRNA were significantly higher before and after exercise in men compared with women. In contrast, MCP-3 and myogenin mRNA were significantly higher before and after exercise in the women compared with the men. CONCLUSIONS: In elderly individuals, gender influences the mRNA expression of certain myokines and growth factors, both at rest and after resistance exercise. These differences may influence muscle regeneration following muscle injury.

Activation of mTOR signalling in young and old human skeletal muscle in response to combined resistance exercise and whey protein ingestion.

PURPOSE: To investigate the impact of whey protein ingestion and resistance exercise training on the phosphorylation of mRNA translational signalling proteins in the skeletal muscle of young and old men. METHODS: Sixteen healthy young (aged 18-25 years) and 15 healthy older men (aged 60-75 years) completed 12 weeks of resistance exercise and were randomly assigned to consume a whey protein (WPI) or placebo drink after each session. Muscle biopsies were collected before and 2 h after an acute exercise bout at the beginning and the end of training. RESULTS: All subjects significantly increased strength after following strength training. Phosphorylation of mTOR was significantly greater in the WPI groups compared with placebo for both younger and older subjects. Phosphorylation of p70(S6K), eIF4G, and 4EBP1 was greater for older subjects consuming WPI. Phosphorylation of rpS6, eIF4G, and 4EBP1 tended to increase in the younger subjects that had consumed WPI. Post-training, younger subjects demonstrated a similar pattern of mTOR phosphorylation as seen pre-training. In contrast, the initial heightened phosphorylation of mTOR, p70(S6K), rpS6, and eIF4G in older muscle to combined resistance exercise and WPI ingestion became less pronounced after repeated training sessions. CONCLUSIONS: In the untrained state, resistance exercise coupled with WPI increases the phosphorylation of proteins involved in mRNA translation compared with exercise alone. Post-training, WPI- and exercise-induced protein phosphorylation was reduced in older men, but not in younger men. Thus, strategies to induce hypertrophy should utilize protein and resistance training concurrently. Further investigations should delineate interventions that will maintain sensitivity to anabolic stimuli in older populations.

Plasma amino acid response after ingestion of different whey protein fractions.

BACKGROUND AND OBJECTIVES: The digestion rate of proteins and subsequent absorption of amino acids can independently modulate protein metabolism. The objective of the present study was to examine the blood amino acid response to whey protein isolate (WPI), ß-lactoglobulin-enriched WPI, hydrolysed WPI and a flavour-identical control. METHODS: Eight healthy adults (four female, four male) were recruited (mean±standard error of the mean: age, 27.0±0.76 years; body mass index, 23.2±0.8 kg/cm(2)) and after an overnight fast consumed 500 ml of each drink, each containing 25g protein, in a cross-over design. Blood was taken at rest and then every 15 min for 2 h post ingestion. RESULTS: Ingesting the ß-lactoglobulin-enriched WPI drink resulted in significantly greater plasma leucine concentrations at 45-120 min and significantly greater branched-chain amino acid concentrations at 60-105 min post ingestion compared with hydrolysed WPI. No differences were observed between WPI and ß-lactoglobulin-enriched WPI, and all protein drinks resulted in elevated blood amino acids compared with flavour-identical control. CONCLUSIONS: In conclusion, whole proteins resulted in a more rapid absorption of leucine and branched-chain amino acid into the blood compared with the hydrolysed molecular form of whey protein.

Whey protein ingestion activates mTOR-dependent signalling after resistance exercise in young men: a double-blinded randomized controlled trial.

The effect of resistance exercise with the ingestion of supplementary protein on the activation of the mTOR cascade, in human skeletal muscle has not been fully elucidated. In this study, the impact of a single bout of resistance exercise, immediately followed by a single dose of whey protein isolate (WPI) or placebo supplement, on the activation of mTOR signalling was analyzed. Young untrained men completed a maximal single-legged knee extension exercise bout and were randomized to ingest either WPI supplement (n = 7) or the placebo (n = 7). Muscle biopsies were taken from the vastus lateralis before, and 2, 4 and 24 h post-exercise. WPI or placebo ingestion consumed immediately post-exercise had no impact on the phosphorylation of Akt (Ser473). However, WPI significantly enhanced phosphorylation of mTOR (Ser2448), 4E-BP1 (Thr(37/46)) and p70(S6K) (Thr389) at 2 h post-exercise. This study demonstrates that a single dose of WPI, when consumed in modest quantities, taken immediately after resistance exercise elicits an acute and transient activation of translation initiation within the exercised skeletal muscle.

Exercise-induced activation of STAT3 signaling is increased with age.

Activation of the transcription factor signal transducers and activators of transcription (STAT) 3 is common to many inflammatory cytokines and growth factors, with recent evidence of involvement in skeletal muscle regeneration. The purpose of this study was to determine whether STAT3 signaling activation is regulated differentially, at rest and following intense resistance exercise, in aged human skeletal muscle. Skeletal muscle biopsies were harvested from healthy younger (n = 11, 20.4 +/- 0.8 years) and older men (n = 10, 67.4 +/- 1.3 years) under resting conditions and 2 h after the completion of resistance exercise. No differences were evident at rest, whereas the phosphorylation of STAT3 was significantly increased in old (23-fold) compared to young (5-fold) subjects after exercise. This correlated with significantly higher induction of the STAT3 target genes including; interleukin-6 (IL-6), JUNB, c-MYC, and suppressor of cytokine signaling (SOCS) 3 mRNA in older subjects following exercise. Despite increased SOCS3 mRNA, cellular protein abundance was suppressed. SOCS3 protein is an important negative regulator of STAT3 activation and cytokine signaling. Thus, in aged human muscle, elevated responsiveness of the STAT3 signaling pathway and suppressed SOCS3 protein are evident following resistance exercise. These data suggest that enhanced STAT3 signaling responsiveness to proinflammatory factors may impact on mechanisms of muscle repair and regeneration.

Impaired expression of Notch signaling genes in aged human skeletal muscle.

Notch signaling is essential for myogenesis and the regenerative potential of skeletal muscle; however, its regulation in human muscle is yet to be fully characterized. Increased expression of Notch3, Jagged1, Hes1, and Hes6 gene transcripts were observed during differentiation of cultured human skeletal muscle cells. Furthermore, significantly lower expressions of Notch1, Jagged1, Numb, and Delta-like 1 were evident in muscle biopsies from older men (60-75 years old) compared to muscle from younger men (18-25 years old). Importantly, with supervised resistance exercise training, expression of Notch1 and Hes6 genes were increased and Delta-like 1 and Numb expression were decreased. The differences in Notch expression between the age groups were no longer evident following training. These results provide further evidence to support the role of Notch in the impaired regulation of muscle mass with age and suggest that some of the benefits provided by resistance training may be mediated through the Notch signaling pathway.