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Biomedical subjects

G L Dohm

Publications and source records attributed to G L Dohm.

At least 109 records · Page 6Linked to original sources

Protein degradation during endurance exercise and recovery.

During endurance exercise, there is a net breakdown of body protein and the amino acids so mobilized are available for increased rates of oxidation and gluconeogenesis. At least part of the net loss of protein is due to a decrease in the rate of protein synthesis during exercise. Liver protein degradation is increased during exercise as a result of autophagy and proteolysis of cell material inside the secondary lysosomes. The rate of degradation of contractile proteins is decreased during exercise but is increased during the recovery period if the exercise is of high intensity and of long duration. Preliminary evidence suggests that the rate of degradation of non-contractile proteins in muscle may be increased at the same time that contractile protein degradation is decreased.

Humans↗

Regulation of muscle pyruvate metabolism during exercise.

Pyruvate dehydrogenase and phosphoenolpyruvate carboxykinase are important enzymes in the regulation of muscle pyruvate metabolism and their in vitro measured activities have been studied in muscle from rested and exercised rats. In addition, the muscle concentration of metabolic intermediates associated with pyruvate metabolism has been measured after exercise. Phosphoenolpyruvate concentration was decreased to less than half the value found in rested muscle but pyruvate concentration did not change. This suggests an increase in the in vivo rate of conversion of phosphoenolpyruvate to pyruvate. Concentrations of malate and aspartate increased two- to threefold which suggests that oxaloacetate concentration was also increased. An increase in oxaloacetate availability would increase acetyl CoA metabolism and therefore would increase pyruvate dehydrogenase activity in vivo. The basal activity of pyruvate dehydrogenase measured in vitro increased approximately twofold after 2 hr of exercise and returned to control values 5 min after the cessation of exercise. Total pyruvate dehydrogenase activity (activated to the maximal extent) was not changed by exercise. Muscle PEPCK activity was also increased during exercise suggesting an increased rate of conversion of oxaloacetate to pyruvate to provide net oxidation of oxaloacetate and other citric acid cycle intermediates. Results of this study demonstrate that the rates of formation and metabolism of pyruvate are increased during exercise.

Animals↗

Metabolic responses to exercise after fasting.

Fasting before exercise increases fat utilization and lowers the rate of muscle glycogen depletion. Since a 24-h fast also depletes liver glycogen, we were interested in blood glucose homeostasis during exercise after fasting. An experiment was conducted with human subjects to determine the effect of fasting on blood metabolite concentrations during exercise. Nine male subjects ran (70% maximum O2 consumption) two counterbalanced trials, once fed and once after a 23-h fast. Plasma glucose was elevated by exercise in the fasted trial but there was no difference between fed and fasted during exercise. Lactate was significantly higher (P less than 0.05) in fasted than fed throughout the exercise bout. Fat mobilization and utilization appeared to be greater in the fasted trial as evidenced by higher plasma concentrations of free fatty acids, glycerol, and beta-hydroxybutyrate as well as lower respiratory exchange ratio in the fasted trial during the first 30 min of exercise. These results demonstrate that in humans blood glucose concentration is maintained at normal levels during exercise after fasting despite the depletion of liver glycogen. Homeostasis is probably maintained as a result of increased gluconeogenesis and decreased utilization of glucose in the muscle as a result of lowered pyruvate dehydrogenase activity.

3-Hydroxybutyric Acid↗

Biphasic changes in 3-methylhistidine excretion in humans after exercise.

We previously reported that 3-methylhistidine excretion was increased in human subjects after a strenuous bout of exercise. Because other investigators have not corroborated this finding, we undertook the present study to investigate the conditions that result in decreased and increased 3-methylhistidine excretion in human subjects after exercise. Four experiments were performed: a cross-sectional study comparing 3-methylhistidine excretion in endurance-trained subjects with untrained controls, a longitudinal study of 3-methylhistidine excretion by female basketball players before the start of the season and again during the competitive season, an experiment to determine changes in 3-methylhistidine excretion as a result of 2 h of exercise each day for 7 consecutive days, and a study to determine changes in 3-methylhistidine excretion during 4-h intervals after a strenuous exercise bout. The 3-methylhistidine-to-creatinine ratio was approximately 20% higher for trained than nontrained subjects. In three separate experiments a biphasic change of 3-methylhistidine excretion was observed in response to exercise with an immediate decrease in the 3-methylhistidine-to-creatinine ratio during exercise followed by a prolonged increase. The magnitudes of the negative and positive responses determine whether one observes an increase, no change, or a decrease in the total daily excretion of 3-methylhistidine.

Creatinine↗

Time course of changes in gluconeogenic enzyme activities during exercise and recovery.

Gluconeogenic enzymes were assayed after varying periods of exercise and recovery to determine how rapidly changes occur and whether they persist after the cessation of exercise. Untrained male rats (250 g) ran on a treadmill at 28 m/min and were killed after varying periods of exercise and recovery. Livers were quickly removed and analyzed for maximal enzyme activities (saturating levels of substrate) and submaximal activities (low-substrate concentrations). The most significant enzyme changes during exercise were increased maximal activity of phosphoenolpyruvate carboxykinase (PEPCK) and decreased submaximal activity of phosphofructokinase (PFK). Submaximal PFK activity was decreased by 30 min of exercise and remained at that low level up to exhaustion (172 +/- 16 min). Changes in submaximal PFK activity are in response to decreased concentrations of fructose-2,6-bisphosphate that were decreased to approximately one-tenth the control value after 30 min of exercise and remained low throughout exercise and 1 h of recovery. The PEPCK activity progressively increased during exercise and was highest at exhaustion. The cAMP level was significantly elevated in liver of rats exercised for 30 min and continued to rise with duration. Six hours after exercise PEPCK and submaximal PFK activities were the same in control and exercised-rested rats. The change in PEPCK activity is consistent with an increase in the rate of enzyme synthesis and/or a decrease in enzyme degradation during exercise, whereas the lowered activity of PFK likely reflects covalent modification of 6-phospho-fructo-2-kinase/fructose-2,6-bisphosphatase.

Animals↗

Activation of branched-chain keto acid dehydrogenase by exercise.

The present study was conducted to investigate the metabolic regulation of leucine oxidation during exercise. Ten rats per group were run at 27 m/min (0% grade) on a treadmill for 30 and 120 min or until exhausted, and the total and basal activity of branched-chain keto acid dehydrogenase was examined in the muscle, liver, and heart. The total activity of the dehydrogenase in the heart, liver, or skeletal muscle was unchanged by exercise. However, exercise increased the basal activity levels of the dehydrogenase about 10-fold in muscle and 5-fold in heart. The basal dehydrogenase activity in the liver was unchanged by exercise. Activation of the dehydrogenase in both muscle and heart was statistically elevated after 30 min exercise and continued to increase during the remainder of the exercise bout. The basal activity of the dehydrogenase returned to resting levels by 10 min postexercise. The activation of the dehydrogenase in muscle and heart during exercise likely is due to dephosphorylation because activity of the enzyme in mitochondria isolated from exercised muscles reverts to control values when the mitochondria are incubated in the presence of ATP. Thus the increased leucine oxidation observed during exercise is due to activation of the branched-chain keto acid dehydrogenase by dephosphorylation. This is the first example of a large increase in branched-chain keto acid dehydrogenase activity caused by a physiological process. This demonstrates that the muscle's latent capacity of oxidize branched-chain amino acids is much larger than previously thought and that this capacity is used in exercising muscle.

3-Methyl-2-Oxobutanoate Dehydrogenase (Lipoamide)↗

Protein metabolism during endurance exercise.

After reviewing all the available results from our laboratory and numerous reports in the literature concerning changes that have occurred in various aspects of protein metabolism during exercise, a number of conclusions can be drawn with some degree of confidence. During exercise, protein synthesis is depressed and this change leaves amino acids available for catabolic processes. The rate of leucine oxidation appears to be increased during exercise, and there is a movement of amino acids, mostly in the form of alanine, from muscle to liver where the rate of gluconeogenesis is increased as a result of exercise. These changes in protein metabolism are probably physiologically significant in at least three ways: amino acid conversion to citric acid cycle intermediates enhances the rate of oxidation of acetyl-CoA generated from glucose and fatty acid oxidation; increased conversion of amino acids to glucose helps to prevent hypoglycemia; oxidation of some amino acids may provide energy for muscular contraction.

Amino Acids↗

Activities of glucokinase and hexokinase in mammalian and avian livers.

A radiochemical assay for glucokinase activity was developed for use in high-speed supernatants of liver. The maximum activities of glucokinase ranged from 0.4 to 3.8 mumol/min per g fresh wt. at 30 degrees C in some avian and mammalian livers, including pigeon, guinea pig and man, in which previous reports indicated zero activities. The reported maximum rates of hepatic glycogen synthesis in livers of rat and man in vivo are similar to the calculated glucokinase activities at 10mM-glucose; therefore glucokinase activity should not limit glycogen synthesis from glucose.

Animals↗

Protein nutrition for the athlete.

Endurance exercise results in a protein catabolic state characterized by decreased protein synthesis, increased amino acid oxidation, and increased conversion of amino acids to glucose. The adaptive response to performance of strength exercise, on the other hand, results in an anabolic state in hypertrophying muscles, and the accretion of protein is the result of increased protein synthesis. Because of changes in protein metabolism there is an increased dietary requirement for protein in both endurance and strength exercise. However, the normal dietary intake of protein is adequate for athletes as long as the energy intake is sufficient to maintain body weight. There is little scientific evidence that consumption of large protein supplements will have any beneficial effect on muscle hypertrophy, muscular strength, or physical performance.

Dietary Proteins↗

Metabolic control of hepatic gluconeogenesis during exercise.

Prolonged exercise increased the concentrations of the hexose phosphates and phosphoenolpyruvate and depressed those of fructose 1,6-bisphosphate, triose phosphates and pyruvate in the liver of the rat. Since exercise increases gluconeogenic flux, these changes in metabolite concentrations suggest that metabolic control is exerted, at least, at the fructose 6-phosphate/fructose 1,6-bisphosphate and phosphoenolpyruvate/pyruvate substrate cycles. Exercise increased the maximal activities of glucose 6-phosphatase, fructose 1,6-bisphosphatase, pyruvate kinase and pyruvate carboxylase in the liver, but there were no changes in those of glucokinase, 6-phosphofructokinase and phosphoenolpyruvate carboxykinase. Exercise changed the concentrations of several allosteric effectors of the glycolytic or gluconeogenic enzymes in liver; the concentrations of acetyl-CoA, ADP and AMP were increased, whereas those of ATP, fructose 1,6-bisphosphate and fructose 2,6-bisphosphate were decreased. The effect of exercise on the phosphorylation-dephosphorylation state of pyruvate kinase was investigated by measuring the activities under conditions of saturating and subsaturating concentrations of substrate. The submaximal activity of pyruvate kinase (0.5 mM-phosphoenolpyruvate), expressed as percentage of Vmax., decreased in the exercised animals to less than half that found in the controls. These changes suggest that hepatic pyruvate kinase is less active during exercise, possibly owing to phosphorylation of the enzyme, and this may play a role in increasing the rate of gluconeogenesis.

Animals↗

Sensitivity to insulin of glycolysis and glycogen synthesis of isolated soleus-muscle strips from sedentary, exercised and exercise-trained rats.

The half-maximal stimulation of the rates of glycolysis and glycogen synthesis in soleus-muscle strips from sedentary animals occurred at a concentration of insulin of about 100 microunits/ml. In soleus-muscle strips from exercise-trained rats (5 weeks of treadmill training), half-maximal stimulation of the rate of glycolysis occurred at about 10 microunits of insulin/ml, whereas that for glycogen synthesis occurred between 10 and 100 microunits of insulin/ml. The sensitivity of glycolysis to insulin after exercise training is similar to that of adipose tissue from sedentary animals. This finding suggests that, in sedentary animals, the effects of normal changes in insulin concentration may affect muscle primarily indirectly via the anti-lipolytic effect on adipose tissue, whereas after training insulin may effect the rate of glycolysis in muscle directly. A single period of exercise did not change the sensitivity of glycolysis in soleus muscle to insulin, nor probably that of glycogen synthesis. It is suggested that the improvement in insulin sensitivity of glycolysis in muscle caused by exercise-training could account, in part, for the well-established improvement in glucose tolerance and insulin sensitivity observed in man and rats after exercise-training.

Animals↗

The influence of glycogen level on hepatic glucose efflux in the anesthetized rat.

This study was initiated to study the effect of a number of physiological conditions on the flux of metabolites across the liver. It was observed that there was a rather high rate of hepatic glycogen depletion in the anesthetized rat and this preparation was used to investigate the relationship between the rate of hepatic glycogenolysis and the level of glycogen in the liver. To produce a range of liver glycogen levels, rats were either ad libitum fed or 8- or 24-hr fasted. In addition, half of each group was anesthetized for either 10 or 70 min. Glucose flux across the liver was determined by measuring blood flow and glucose concentrations in the portal vein, hepatic artery, and hepatic vein. The rate of glycogen depletion and glucose efflux were greatest in the ad libitum fed animals and lowest in the 24-hr fasted rats. In all three groups glucose efflux was lower after 70 min of anesthesia than after 10 min. The results of this study demonstrate that anesthesia causes a rather high rate of hepatic glycogenolysis and the rate of glycogenolysis is decreased as the liver glycogen level is lowered.

Anesthesia↗

Influence of fasting on glycogen depletion in rats during exercise.

We recently observed that a 24-h fasted group of rats could run longer than an ad libitum fed control group before becoming exhausted. Because of the demonstrated importance of glycogen levels and free fatty acid availability during endurance exercise, we have investigated several parameters of carbohydrate and lipid metabolism in exercised and nonexercised rats that were either fed ad libitum or fasted for 24 h. A 24-h fast depleted liver glycogen, lowered plasma glucose concentration, decreased muscle glycogen levels, and increased free fatty acid and beta-hydroxybutyrate concentrations in plasma. During exercise the fasted group had lower plasma glucose concentration, higher plasma concentration of free fatty acids and beta-hydroxybutyrate, and a lower muscle glycogen depletion rate than did the ad libitum fed group. Since fasted rats were able to continue running even when plasma glucose had dropped to levels lower than those of fed-exhausted rats, it seems unlikely that blood glucose level, per se, is a factor in causing exhaustion. These results suggest that fasting increases fatty acid utilization during exercise and the resulting "glycogen sparing" effect may result in increased endurance.

Animals↗

Fatty acid oxidation by liver and muscle preparations of exhaustively exercised rats.

The influence of exhaustive exercise on the capacity of liver and muscle of rats to oxidize fatty acids was investigated in vitro. The rate of oxidation of fatty acids by liver preparations was significantly elevated as a result of exhaustion. Concurrently, the concentrations of beta-hydroxybutyrate were elevated in the plasma of the exhausted rats, suggesting that oxidation of fatty acids was also elevated in vivo. These findings are analogous to the findings of increased oxidation of fatty acids that results from training. In muscle, oxidation of palmitate, palmitoylcarnitine and beta-hydroxybutyrate by homogenates and isolated mitochondria was depressed with exercise. Despite the decrease in the oxidative capacity of the muscle preparations, the activities of several enzymes of beta-oxidation were either increased or unchanged as a result of exercise, suggesting that the depression in fatty acid oxidation may not be related to alterations in the process of beta-oxidation. Further studies showed that oxidation of [2-(14)C]pyruvate by muscle was depressed, whereas oxidation of [1-(14)C]pyruvate was not changed as a result of exercise. These results suggest that the decrease in fatty acid oxidation may be related to aberrations in the oxidation of acetyl-CoA. The changes in fatty acid oxidation that were observed, which are at variance with what is reported to occur with training, may have resulted from increased fragility of muscle mitochondria as a result of exercise. This increased fragility may render the mitochondria more susceptible to experimental manipulations in vitro and a subsequent loss of normal function.

Animals↗

The role of lysosomes in exercise-induced hepatic protein loss.

Previous reports have shown that exercise causes a loss of liver protein. The purpose of the present study was to elucidate the mechanism of this exercise-induced protein loss. Exercise caused: (1) an increase in mechanical and osmotic lysosomal fragility; (2) a significant loss of hepatic water, glycogen, protein, phospholipid and RNA; (3) loss of protein from the soluble, mitochondrial and microsomal fractions: (4) loss of mitochondrial, microsomal and cytosolic, but not lysosomal, enzyme activity; (5) an increase in the number of autophagic vacuoles; (6) an increase in the lysosomal size. Taken together, these results suggest that the autophagolysosomal system is responsible for the exercise-induced hepatic protein loss.

Animals↗