The effect of a bout of resistance exercise on skeletal muscle protein metabolism after severe fasting

Abstract

Resistance exercise (RE) activates the mechanistic target of rapamycin complex 1 (mTORC1) signaling pathway and increases muscle protein synthesis. Severe fasting induces 5′ adenosine monophosphate-activated protein kinase (AMPK), which attenuates mTORC1 activation. However, the effect of RE on the response of mTORC1 signaling proteins after a period of severe fasting is unclear. We investigated the effect of RE on rat skeletal muscle protein metabolism after a period of severe fasting. We hypothesized that RE-induced activation of mTORC1 signaling protein attenuates protein breakdown by autophagy. Male Sprague-Dawley rats were divided into ordinary-fed (C) and 72-h fasting (F) groups. A bout of RE was replicated by percutaneous electrical stimulation in the right gastrocnemius muscle. The tuberous sclerosis complex 2 (TSC2) Ser1387 and autophagy marker of microtubule-associated protein 1A/1B-light chain 3-II (LC3B-II) expression of the F group increased twice that of the C group in sedentary state (P < 0.05). RE activated the mTORC1 signaling pathway in both groups (P < 0.05); however, in the F group, the magnitude of p70S6K (Thr389) phosphorylation was lower by 40% of that of the C group (P < 0.05). Protein synthesis after RE was increased by 50% from the level at sedentary state in the C group (P < 0.05), but not in the F. In the F group, the expression of LC3B-II at 3 h after RE was decreased by almost 25% from the level at sedentary state (P < 0.05). Our results suggest that RE suppressed fasting-induced autophagy but did not increase protein synthesis during severe fasting in rat skeletal muscle.