The aim of the present study was to test the hypothesis that peroxisome proliferator activated receptor-γ coactivator (PGC) 1α is required for exercise-induced adaptive gene responses in skeletal muscle. Whole body PGC-1α knockout (KO) and littermate wild-type (WT) mice performed a single treadmill-running exercise bout. Soleus and white gastrocnemius (WG) were obtained immediately, 2 h, or 6 h after exercise. Another group of PGC-1α KO and WT mice performed 5-wk exercise training. Soleus, WG, and quadriceps were obtained ∼37 h after the last training session. Resting muscles of the PGC-1α KO mice had lower (∼20%) cytochrome c (cyt c), cytochrome oxidase (COX) I, and aminolevulinate synthase (ALAS) 1 mRNA and protein levels than WT, but similar levels of AMP-activated protein kinase (AMPK) α1, AMPKα2, and hexokinase (HK) II compared with WT mice. A single exercise bout increased phosphorylation of AMPK and acetyl-CoA carboxylase-β and the level of HKII mRNA similarly in WG of KO and WT. In contrast, cyt c mRNA in soleus was upregulated in WT muscles only. Exercise training increased cyt c, COXI, ALAS1, and HKII mRNA and protein levels equally in WT and KO animals, but cyt c, COXI, and ALAS1 expression remained ∼20% lower in KO animals. In conclusion, lack of PGC-1α reduced resting expression of cyt c, COXI, and ALAS1 and exercise-induced cyt c mRNA expression. However, PGC-1α is not mandatory for training-induced increases in ALAS1, COXI, and cyt c expression, showing that factors other than PGC-1α can exert these adaptations.

Lifestyle-related diseases are rapidly increasing at least in part due to less physical activity. The health beneficial effects of regular physical activity include metabolic adaptations in skeletal muscle, which are thought to be elicited by cumulative effects of transient gene responses to each single exercise, but how is this regulated? A potential candidate in this is the transcriptional coactivator peroxisome proliferator-activated receptor-gamma coactivator (PGC)-1alpha, which has been identified as a master regulator of mitochondrial biogenesis, but also been shown to regulate proteins involved in angiogenesis and the anti-oxidant defence as well as to affect expression of inflammatory markers. Exercise increases PGC-1alpha transcription and potentially PGC-1alpha activity through post-translational modifications, and concomitant PGC-1alpha-mediated gene regulation is suggested to be an underlying mechanism for adaptations in skeletal muscle, when exercise is repeated. The current review presents some of the key findings in PGC-1alpha-mediated regulation of metabolically related, anti-oxidant and inflammatory proteins in skeletal muscle in the basal state and in response to exercise training, and describes functional significance of PGC-1alpha-mediated effects in skeletal muscle. In addition, regulation of PGC-1alpha expression and activity in skeletal muscle is described. The impact of changes in PGC-1alpha expression in mouse skeletal muscle and the ability of PGC-1alpha to regulate multiple pathways and functions underline the potential importance of PGC-1alpha in skeletal muscle adaptations in humans. The absence of exercise-induced PGC-1alpha-mediated gene regulation during a physical inactive lifestyle is suggested to lead to reduced oxidative capacity of skeletal muscle and concomitant impaired metabolism.

The aim was to test the hypothesis that 7 days of bed rest reduces mitochondrial number and expression and activity of oxidative proteins in human skeletal muscle but that exercise-induced intracellular signaling as well as mRNA and microRNA (miR) responses are maintained after bed rest. Twelve young, healthy male subjects completed 7 days of bed rest with vastus lateralis muscle biopsies taken before and after bed rest. In addition, muscle biopsies were obtained from six of the subjects prior to, immediately after, and 3 h after 45 min of one-legged knee extensor exercise performed before and after bed rest. Maximal oxygen uptake decreased by 4%, and exercise endurance decreased nonsignificantly, by 11%, by bed rest. Bed rest reduced skeletal muscle mitochondrial DNA/nuclear DNA content 15%, hexokinase II and sirtuin 1 protein content ∼45%, 3-hydroxyacyl-CoA dehydrogenase and citrate synthase activity ∼8%, and miR-1 and miR-133a content ∼10%. However, cytochrome c and vascular endothelial growth factor (VEGF) protein content as well as capillarization did not change significantly with bed rest. Acute exercise increased AMP-activated protein kinase phosphorylation, peroxisome proliferator activated receptor-γ coactivator-1α, and VEGF mRNA content in skeletal muscle before bed rest, but the responses were abolished after bed rest. The present findings indicate that only 7 days of physical inactivity reduces skeletal muscle metabolic capacity as well as abolishes exercise-induced adaptive gene responses, likely reflecting an interference with the ability of skeletal muscle to adapt to exercise.

To elucidate the molecular mechanisms behind physical inactivity–induced insulin resistance in skeletal muscle, 12 young, healthy male subjects completed 7 days of bed rest with vastus lateralis muscle biopsies obtained before and after. In six of the subjects, muscle biopsies were taken from both legs before and after a 3-h hyperinsulinemic euglycemic clamp performed 3 h after a 45-min, one-legged exercise. Blood samples were obtained from one femoral artery and both femoral veins before and during the clamp. Glucose infusion rate and leg glucose extraction during the clamp were lower after than before bed rest. This bed rest–induced insulin resistance occurred together with reduced muscle GLUT4, hexokinase II, protein kinase B/Akt1, and Akt2 protein level, and a tendency for reduced 3-hydroxyacyl-CoA dehydrogenase activity. The ability of insulin to phosphorylate Akt and activate glycogen synthase (GS) was reduced with normal GS site 3 but abnormal GS site 2+2a phosphorylation after bed rest. Exercise enhanced insulin-stimulated leg glucose extraction both before and after bed rest, which was accompanied by higher GS activity in the prior-exercised leg than the rested leg. The present findings demonstrate that physical inactivity–induced insulin resistance in muscle is associated with lower content/activity of key proteins in glucose transport/phosphorylation and storage.