Influence of fatty acids on ammonia and amino acid flux from active human muscle

The effect of 8-day oral taurine supplementation on thermoregulation during low-intensity exercise at fixed heat production in hot conditions of incremental humidity

PURPOSE

To determine the effect of taurine supplementation on sweating and core temperature responses, including the transition from compensable to uncompensable heat stress, during prolonged low-intensity exercise of a fixed-heat production (~ 200W/m2) in hot conditions (37.5 °C), at both fixed and incremental vapour-pressure.

METHODS

Fifteen females (n = 3) and males (n = 12; 27 ± 5 years, 78 ± 9 kg, V ˙ O2max 50.3 ± 7.8 mL/kg/min), completed a treadmill walking protocol (~ 200W/m2 heat production [Ḣprod]) in the heat (37.5 ± 0.1 °C) at fixed-(16-mmHg) and ramped-humidity (∆1.5-mmHg/5-min) following 1 week of oral taurine supplementation (50 mg/kg/bm) or placebo, in a double-blind, randomised, cross-over design. Participants were assessed for whole-body sweat loss (WBSL), local sweat rate (LSR), sweat gland activation (SGA), core temperature (Tcore), breakpoint of compensability (Pcrit) and calorimetric heat transfer components. Plasma volume and plasma taurine concentrations were established through pre- and post-trial blood samples.

RESULTS

Taurine supplementation increased WBSL by 26.6% and 5.1% (p = 0.035), LSR by 15.5% and 7.8% (p = 0.013), SGA (1 × 1 cm) by 32.2% and 29.9% (p < 0.001) and SGA (3 × 3 cm) by 22.1% and 17.1% (p = 0.015) during the fixed- and ramped-humidity exercise periods, respectively. Evaporative heat loss was enhanced by 27% (p = 0.010), heat-storage reduced by 72% (p = 0.024) and Pcrit was greater in taurine vs placebo (25.0-mmHg vs 21.7-mmHg; p = 0.002).

CONCLUSION

Taurine supplementation increased sweating responses during fixed Ḣprod in hot conditions, prior to substantial heat strain and before the breakpoint of compensability, demonstrating improved thermoregulatory capacity. The enhanced evaporative cooling and reduced heat-storage delayed the subsequent upward inflection in Tcore-represented by a greater Pcrit-and offers a potential dietary supplementation strategy to support thermoregulation.

Exercise and physical activity in cirrhosis: opportunities or perils

Reduced exercise capacity and impaired physical performance are observed in nearly all patients with liver cirrhosis. Physical activity and exercise are physiological anabolic stimuli that can reverse dysregulated protein homeostasis or proteostasis and potentially increase muscle mass and contractile function in healthy subjects. Cirrhosis is a state of anabolic resistance, and unlike the beneficial responses to exercise reported in physiological states, there are few systematic studies evaluating the response to exercise in cirrhosis. Hyperammonemia is a mediator of the liver-muscle axis with net skeletal muscle ammonia uptake in cirrhosis causing signaling perturbations, mitochondrial dysfunction with decreased ATP content, modifications of contractile proteins, and impaired ribosomal function, all of which contribute to anabolic resistance in cirrhosis and have the potential to impair the beneficial responses to exercise. English language-publications in peer-reviewed journals that specifically evaluated the impact of exercise in cirrhosis were reviewed. Most studies evaluated responses to endurance exercise, and readouts included peak or maximum oxygen utilization, grip strength, and functional capacity. Endurance exercise for up to 12 wk is clinically tolerated in well-compensated cirrhosis. Data on the safety of resistance exercise are conflicting. Nutritional supplements enhance the benefits of exercise in healthy subjects but have not been evaluated in cirrhosis. Whether the beneficial physiological responses with endurance exercise and increase in muscle mass with resistance exercise that occur in healthy subjects also occur in cirrhotics is not known. Specific organ-system responses, changes in body composition, or improved long-term clinical outcomes with exercise in cirrhosis need evaluation.

An amino acid-electrolyte beverage may increase cellular rehydration relative to carbohydrate-electrolyte and flavored water beverages

BACKGROUND

In cases of dehydration exceeding a 2% loss of body weight, athletic performance can be significantly compromised. Carbohydrate and/or electrolyte containing beverages have been effective for rehydration and recovery of performance, yet amino acid containing beverages remain unexamined. Therefore, the purpose of this study is to compare the rehydration capabilities of an electrolyte-carbohydrate (EC), electrolyte-branched chain amino acid (EA), and flavored water (FW) beverages.

METHODS

Twenty men (n = 10; 26.7 ± 4.8 years; 174.3 ± 6.4 cm; 74.2 ± 10.9 kg) and women (n = 10; 27.1 ± 4.7 years; 175.3 ± 7.9 cm; 71.0 ± 6.5 kg) participated in this crossover study. For each trial, subjects were dehydrated, provided one of three random beverages, and monitored for the following three hours. Measurements were collected prior to and immediately after dehydration and 4 hours after dehydration (3 hours after rehydration) (AE = -2.5 ± 0.55%; CE = -2.2 ± 0.43%; FW = -2.5 ± 0.62%). Measurements collected at each time point were urine volume, urine specific gravity, drink volume, and fluid retention.

RESULTS

No significant differences (p > 0.05) existed between beverages for urine volume, drink volume, or fluid retention for any time-point. Treatment x time interactions existed for urine specific gravity (USG) (p < 0.05). Post hoc analysis revealed differences occurred between the FW and EA beverages (p = 0.003) and between the EC and EA beverages (p = 0.007) at 4 hours after rehydration. Wherein, EA USG returned to baseline at 4 hours post-dehydration (mean difference from pre to 4 hours post-dehydration = -0.0002; p > 0.05) while both EC (-0.0067) and FW (-0.0051) continued to produce dilute urine and failed to return to baseline at the same time-point (p < 0.05).

CONCLUSION

Because no differences existed for fluid retention, urine or drink volume at any time point, yet USG returned to baseline during the EA trial, an EA supplement may enhance cellular rehydration rate compared to an EC or FW beverage in healthy men and women after acute dehydration of around 2% body mass loss.

Regulatory mechanisms of skeletal muscle protein turnover during exercise

Skeletal muscle protein turnover is a relatively slow metabolic process that is altered by various physiological stimuli such as feeding, fasting, and exercise. During exercise, catabolism of amino acids contributes very little to ATP turnover in working muscle. With regard to protein turnover, there are now consistent data from tracer studies in rodents and humans showing that global protein synthesis is blunted in working skeletal muscle. Whether there is altered skeletal muscle protein breakdown during exercise remains unclear. The blunting of protein synthesis is believed to be mediated by suppressed mRNA translation initiation and elongation steps involving, but not limited to, changes in eukaryotic initiation factor 4E binding protein 1 and eukaryotic elongation factor 2 phosphorylation (eEF2), respectively. Evidence is provided that upstream signaling to translation factors is mediated by signaling downstream of changes in intracellular Ca2+ and energy turnover. In particular, a signaling cascade involving Ca2+/calmodulin-eEF2 kinase-eEF2 is implicated. The possible functional significance of altered protein turnover in working skeletal muscle during exercise is discussed. Further work with available and new techniques will undoubtedly reveal the functional significance and signaling mechanisms behind changes in skeletal muscle protein turnover during exercise.

Growth hormone effects on protein metabolism

Growth hormone (GH) has a pivotal role in regulating in vivo protein metabolism. GH enhances protein anabolism at the wholebody level, mainly by stimulating protein synthesis. It remains incompletely understood whether this important GH effect on protein synthesis occurs in all tissues. This effect of GH may be different with acute versus chronic administration. These differences in the GH exposure may have different effects based not only on direct GH stimulation of protein synthesis but also the variable effects at the level of gene transcription that ultimately affect protein metabolism. Other GH effects are likely to be mediated by changes in various metabolites and hormones that also likely differ based on the duration of GH administration.

Effect of carbohydrate ingestion on ammonia metabolism during exercise in humans

The present study was undertaken to examine the effect of carbohydrate ingestion on plasma and muscle ammonia (NH(3) denotes ammonia and ammonium) accumulation during prolonged exercise. Eleven trained men exercised for 2 h at 65% peak pulmonary oxygen consumption while ingesting either 250 ml of an 8% carbohydrate-electrolyte solution every 15 min (CHO) or an equal volume of a sweet placebo. Blood glucose and plasma insulin levels during exercise were higher in CHO, but plasma hypoxanthine was lower after 120 min (1.7 +/- 0.3 vs. 2.6 +/- 0.1 micromol/l; P < 0. 05). Plasma NH(3) levels were similar at rest and after 30 min of exercise in both trials but were lower after 60, 90, and 120 min of exercise in CHO (62 +/- 9 vs. 76 +/- 9 micromol/l; P < 0.05). Muscle NH(3) levels were similar at rest and after 30 min of exercise but were lower after 120 min of exercise in CHO (1.51 +/- 0.21 vs. 2.07 +/- 0.23 mmol/kg dry muscle; P < 0.05; n = 5). These data are best explained by carbohydrate ingestion reducing muscle NH(3) production from amino acid degradation, although a small reduction in net AMP catabolism within the contracting muscle may also make a minor contribution to the lower tissue NH(3) levels.

Metabolic and thermodynamic responses to dehydration-induced reductions in muscle blood flow in exercising humans

1. The present study examined whether reductions in muscle blood flow with exercise-induced dehydration would reduce substrate delivery and metabolite and heat removal to and from active skeletal muscles during prolonged exercise in the heat. A second aim was to examine the effects of dehydration on fuel utilisation across the exercising leg and identify factors related to fatigue. 2. Seven cyclists performed two cycle ergometer exercise trials in the heat (35 C; 61 +/- 2 % of maximal oxygen consumption rate, VO2,max), separated by 1 week. During the first trial (dehydration, DE), they cycled until volitional exhaustion (135 +/- 4 min, mean +/- s.e.m.), while developing progressive DE and hyperthermia (3.9 +/- 0.3 % body weight loss and 39.7 +/- 0.2 C oesophageal temperature, Toes). On the second trial (control), they cycled for the same period of time maintaining euhydration by ingesting fluids and stabilising Toes at 38.2 +/- 0.1 degrees C. 3. After 20 min of exercise in both trials, leg blood flow (LBF) and leg exchange of lactate, glucose, free fatty acids (FFA) and glycerol were similar. During the 20 to 135 +/- 4 min period of exercise, LBF declined significantly in DE but tended to increase in control. Therefore, after 120 and 135 +/- 4 min of DE, LBF was 0.6 +/- 0.2 and 1.0 +/- 0.3 l min-1 lower (P < 0.05), respectively, compared with control. 4. The lower LBF after 2 h in DE did not alter glucose or FFA delivery compared with control. However, DE resulted in lower (P < 0.05) net FFA uptake and higher (P < 0.05) muscle glycogen utilisation (45 %), muscle lactate accumulation (4.6-fold) and net lactate release (52 %), without altering net glycerol release or net glucose uptake. 5. In both trials, the mean convective heat transfer from the exercising legs to the body core ranged from 6.3 +/- 1.7 to 7.2 +/- 1.3 kJ min-1, thereby accounting for 35-40 % of the estimated rate of heat production ( approximately 18 kJ min-1). 6. At exhaustion in DE, blood lactate values were low whereas blood glucose and muscle glycogen levels were still high. Exhaustion coincided with high body temperature ( approximately 40 C). 7. In conclusion, the present results demonstrate that reductions in exercising muscle blood flow with dehydration do not impair either the delivery of glucose and FFA or the removal of lactate during moderately intense prolonged exercise in the heat. However, dehydration during exercise in the heat elevates carbohydrate oxidation and lactate production. A major finding is that more than one-half of the metabolic heat liberated in the contracting leg muscles is dissipated directly to the surrounding environment. The present results indicate that hyperthermia, rather than altered metabolism, is the main factor underlying the early fatigue with dehydration during prolonged exercise in the heat.

Effect of muscle glycogen on glucose, lactate and amino acid metabolism during exercise and recovery in human subjects

1. Eight subjects performed two-legged exercise, one leg with low and the other with normal muscle glycogen content. The purpose was to study the effect of low initial muscle glycogen content on the metabolic response during 1 h of exercise and 2 h of recovery. This model allows direct comparison of net fluxes of substrates and metabolites over the exercising legs receiving the same arterial inflow. 2. Muscle glycogen breakdown during exercise was 60% lower in the leg with a reduced pre-exercise glycogen concentration and the rate of glucose uptake during exercise was 30% higher. 3. The amount of pyruvate that was oxidized during exercise was calculated to be approximately 450 mmol in the low-glycogen leg and 750 mmol in the normal-glycogen leg, which suggests more fat and amino acid oxidation in the low-glycogen leg. 4. During exercise, there was a significant release of amino acids not metabolized in the muscle, e. g. tyrosine and phenylalanine, only from the low-glycogen leg, suggesting an increased rate of net protein degradation in this leg. 5. The release of tyrosine and phenylalanine from the low-glycogen leg during the exercise period and the change in their muscle concentrations yield a net tyrosine and phenylalanine production rate of 1.4 and 1.5 mmol h-1, respectively. The net rate of protein degradation was then calculated to be 7-12 g h-1. 6. The results suggest that the observed differences in metabolism between the low-glycogen and the normal-glycogen leg are induced by the glycogen level per se, since the legs received the same arterial supply of hormones and substrates.

Exercise-induced muscle injury: a calpain hypothesis

It is well established that periods of increased contractile activity result in significant changes in muscle structure and function. Such morphological changes as sarcomeric Z-line disruption and sarcoplasmic reticulum vacuolization are characteristic of exercise-induced muscle injury. While the precise mechanism(s) underlying the perturbations to muscle following exercise remains to be elucidated, it is clear that disturbances in Ca2+ homeostasis and changes in the rate of protein degradation occur. The resulting elevation in intracellular [Ca2+] activates the non-lysosomal cysteine protease, calpain. Because calpain cleaves a variety of protein substrates including cytoskeletal and myofibrillar proteins, calpain-mediated degradation is thought to contribute to the changes in muscle structure and function that occur immediately following exercise. In addition, calpain activation may trigger the adaptation response to muscle injury. The purpose of this paper is to: (i) review the chemistry of the calpain-calpastatin system; (ii) provide evidence for the involvement of the non-lysosomal, calcium-activated neutral protease (calpain) in the response of skeletal muscle protein breakdown to exercise (calpain hypothesis); and (iii) describe the possible involvement of calpain in the inflammatory and regeneration response to exercise.

Deamination of amino acids as a source for ammonia production in human skeletal muscle during prolonged exercise

1. The influence of pre-exercise muscle glycogen content on ammonia production, adenine nucleotide breakdown and amino acid metabolism was investigated during prolonged exercise in six subjects having one leg with a normal and one leg with a low muscle glycogen content. One-leg knee-extensor exercise was performed for 90 min, at a workload of 60-65% of the maximal power output, first with one leg and then with the other. 2. During exercise ammonia was released in gradually increasing amounts and plateaued after 1 h exercise at a rate of approximately 80 mumol min-1. The total ammonia production was 9.1 +/- 0.4 and 9.5 +/- 1.4 mmol (kg dry muscle)-1 in the normal and low glycogen content leg, respectively. 3. Levels of muscle phosphocreatine (PC), total adenine nucleotides and inosine monophosphate (IMP) were similar at rest and after 90 min of exercise. 4. Only minor differences were observed between rest and exercise and between legs for the muscle concentrations of glutamine, alanine and the branched-chain amino acids. Muscle glutamate concentration decreased by 60-70% within the first 10 min of exercise. Glutamate consumption over 90 min quantitatively equalled ammonia production. Most of the glutamate was consumed within the first 10 min of exercise, while ammonia production gradually increased during exercise. Therefore deamination of glutamate cannot be the main source of ammonia production during the later stage of exercise. 5. It is concluded that during prolonged one-leg exercise at moderate intensity: (a) ammonia production is not affected by pre-exercise muscle glycogen content, (b) ammonia production exceeds by far the breakdown of adenine nucleotides to IMP and therefore has to be derived from alternative sources, and (c) deamination of amino acids is a likely source of ammonia production during prolonged exercise.

Effect of a low-carbohydrate diet on plasma and sweat ammonia concentrations during prolonged nonexhausting exercise

The purpose of this investigation was to examine the effect of low body glycogen stores on plasma ammonia concentration and sweat ammonia excretion during prolonged, nonexhausting exercise of moderate intensity. On two occasions seven healthy untrained men pedalled on a cycle ergometer for 60 min at 50% of their predetermined maximal O2 uptakes (VO2max) firstly, following 3 days on a normal mixed diet (N-diet) (60% carbohydrates, 25% fat and 15% protein) and secondly, following 3 days on a low-carbohydrate diet (LC-diet) (less than 5% carbohydrates, 50% fat and 45% protein) of equal energy content. Blood was collected from the antecubital vein immediately before, at 30th and at 60th min of exercise. Sweat was collected from the hypogastric region using gauze pads. It was shown that plasma ammonia concentrations after the LC-diet were higher than after the N-diet at both the 30th and 60th min of exercise. Sweat ammonia concentration and total ammonia loss through the sweat were also higher after the LC-diet. The higher ammonia concentrations in plasma and sweat after the LC-diet would seem to indicate an increased ammonia production, which may be related to reduced initial carbohydrate stores.

Skeletal muscle substrate utilization during submaximal exercise in man: effect of endurance training

1. The influence of training-induced adaptations in skeletal muscle tissue on the choice between carbohydrates (CHO) and lipids as well as the extra- vs. intracellular substrate utilization was investigated in seven healthy male subjects performing one-legged knee-extension exercise. In each subject one of the knee extensors was endurance trained for eight weeks, whereafter the trained (T) and non-trained (NT) thighs were investigated a week apart. 2. The activity of beta-hydroxy-acyl-coenzyme A dehydrogenase (HAD) and capillary density in the knee extensors were significantly larger in T than in NT. 3. During dynamic knee-extension exercise, performed at the same absolute intensity for 2 h, femoral venous blood flow was lower in T than in NT (P < 0.05), but oxygen uptake was similar. 4. Respiratory quotient (RQ) values over the exercising thigh, averaging 0.81 (T) vs. 0.91 (NT; P < 0.05) indicated that a shift towards a larger fat combustion occurred with endurance training. 5. Both free fatty acids (FFA) and serum triacylglycerol contributed to the utilization of fat in NT and T muscles with no significant contribution from muscle fibre triacylglycerol. 6. At high plasma FFA concentrations net uptake of FFA plateaued in NT but not in T muscles. 7. The findings suggest that FFA uptake in exercising muscle is a saturable process and that the transport capacity is enhanced by training. The lower CHO utilization in the T leg was mainly a function of the glycogenolysis of the muscle being reduced. Hormones such as insulin, noradrenaline and adrenaline are unlikely to play a role in this shift as differences in plasma levels during T and NT leg exercise were small and insignificant, implying that local structural and functional adaptations of the training muscle are crucial for the observed shifts in the metabolic response to exercise.