Sarcolemmal ATP-Sensitive K+ Channels Control Energy Expenditure Determining Body Weight

Abstract

Metabolic processes that regulate muscle energy use are major determinants of bodily energy balance. Here, we find that sarcolemmal ATP-sensitive K+ (KATP) channels, which couple membrane excitability with cellular metabolic pathways, set muscle energy expenditure under physiological stimuli. Disruption of KATP channel function provoked, under conditions of unaltered locomotor activity and blood substrate availability, an extra energy cost of cardiac and skeletal muscle performance. Inefficient fuel metabolism in KATP channel-deficient striated muscles reduced glycogen and fat body depots, promoting a lean phenotype. The propensity to lesser body weight imposed by KATP channel deficit persisted under a high-fat diet, yet obesity restriction was achieved at the cost of compromised physical endurance. Thus, sarcolemmal KATP channels govern muscle energy economy, and their downregulation in a tissue-specific manner could present an antiobesity strategy by rendering muscle increasingly thermogenic at rest and less fuel efficient during exercise. © 2010 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.