Exercise Metabolism and Adaptation in Skeletal Muscle

Overview

Journal Nat Rev Mol Cell Biol

Specialties Cell Biology
Molecular Biology

Date 2023 May 24

PMID 37225892

Authors

Jonathon A B Smith

Kevin A Murach

Kenneth A Dyar

Juleen R Zierath

Affiliations

Soon will be listed here.

Abstract

Viewing metabolism through the lens of exercise biology has proven an accessible and practical strategy to gain new insights into local and systemic metabolic regulation. Recent methodological developments have advanced understanding of the central role of skeletal muscle in many exercise-associated health benefits and have uncovered the molecular underpinnings driving adaptive responses to training regimens. In this Review, we provide a contemporary view of the metabolic flexibility and functional plasticity of skeletal muscle in response to exercise. First, we provide background on the macrostructure and ultrastructure of skeletal muscle fibres, highlighting the current understanding of sarcomeric networks and mitochondrial subpopulations. Next, we discuss acute exercise skeletal muscle metabolism and the signalling, transcriptional and epigenetic regulation of adaptations to exercise training. We address knowledge gaps throughout and propose future directions for the field. This Review contextualizes recent research of skeletal muscle exercise metabolism, framing further advances and translation into practice.

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