PGC-1alpha Plays a Functional Role in Exercise-induced Mitochondrial Biogenesis and Angiogenesis but Not Fiber-type Transformation in Mouse Skeletal Muscle

Overview

Journal Am J Physiol Cell Physiol

Publisher American Physiological Society

Specialties Cell Biology
Physiology

Date 2009 Dec 25

PMID 20032509

Citations 119

Authors

Tuoyu Geng

Ping Li

Mitsuharu Okutsu

Xinhe Yin

Jyeyi Kwek

Mei Zhang

Zhen Yan

Affiliations

Soon will be listed here.

Abstract

Endurance exercise stimulates peroxisome proliferator-activated receptor gamma coactivator-1alpha (PGC-1alpha) expression in skeletal muscle, and forced expression of PGC-1alpha changes muscle metabolism and exercise capacity in mice. However, it is unclear if PGC-1alpha is indispensible for endurance exercise-induced metabolic and contractile adaptations in skeletal muscle. In this study, we showed that endurance exercise-induced expression of mitochondrial enzymes (cytochrome oxidase IV and cytochrome c) and increases of platelet endothelial cell adhesion molecule-1 (PECAM-1, CD31)-positive endothelial cells in skeletal muscle, but not IIb-to-IIa fiber-type transformation, were significantly attenuated in muscle-specific Pgc-1alpha knockout mice. Interestingly, voluntary running effectively restored the compromised mitochondrial integrity and superoxide dismutase 2 (SOD2) protein expression in skeletal muscle in Pgc-1alpha knockout mice. Thus, PGC-1alpha plays a functional role in endurance exercise-induced mitochondrial biogenesis and angiogenesis, but not IIb-to-IIa fiber-type transformation in mouse skeletal muscle, and the improvement of mitochondrial morphology and antioxidant defense in response to endurance exercise may occur independently of PGC-1alpha function. We conclude that PGC-1alpha is required for complete skeletal muscle adaptations induced by endurance exercise in mice.

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