Pyruvate overrides inhibition of PDH during exercise after a low-carbohydrate diet.
The effects of carbohydrate deprivation on the regulation of pyruvate dehydrogenase (PDH) were studied at rest and during moderate-intensity exercise. An inhibitory effect of a chronic low-carbohydrate diet (LCD) on the active form of PDH (PDHa) mediated by a stable increase in PDH kinase (PDHK) activity has recently been reported (Peters SJ, Howlett RA, St. Amand TA, Heigenhauser GJF, and Spriet LL. Am J Physiol Endocrinol Metab 275: E980-E986, 1998.). In the present study, seven males cycled at 65% maximal O(2) uptake for 30 min after a 6-day LCD. Exercise was repeated 1 wk later after a mixed diet (MD). Muscle biopsies were sampled from the vastus lateralis at rest and at 2 and 30 min of exercise. At rest, PDHa activity (0.18 +/- 0.04 vs. 0.63 +/- 0.18 mmol x min(-1) x kg wet wt(-1)), muscle glycogen content (310.2 +/- 36.9 vs. 563.9 +/- 32.6 mmol/kg dry wt), and muscle lactate content (2.6 +/- 0.3 vs. 4.2 +/- 0.6 mmol/kg dry wt) were significantly lower after the LCD. Resting muscle acetyl-CoA (10.8 +/- 1.9 vs. 7.4 +/- 0.8 micromol/kg dry wt) and acetylcarnitine (5.3 +/- 1.4 vs. 1.6 +/- 0.3 mmol/kg dry wt) contents were significantly elevated after the LCD. During exercise, PDHa, glycogenolytic rate (LCD 5.8 +/- 0.4 vs. MD 6.9 +/- 0.2 mmol x min(-1) x kg dry wt(-1)), and muscle concentrations of acetylcarnitine, pyruvate, and lactate increased to the same extent in both conditions. The results of the present study suggest that inhibition of resting PDH by elevated PDHK activity after a LCD may be overridden by the availability of muscle pyruvate during exercise.
Department of Medicine, McMaster University, Hamilton, Ontario L8S 3Z5, Canada.
T A
TA
St Amand
L L
LL
Spriet
N L
NL
Jones
G J
GJ
Heigenhauser
D020155:3-Hydroxybutyric Acid / Q000097:blood; D000105:Acetyl Coenzyme A / Q000378:metabolism; D000108:Acetylcarnitine / Q000378:metabolism; D000328:Adult; D001786:Blood Glucose; D004040:Dietary Carbohydrates / Q000378:metabolism*; D005080:Exercise Test; D005230:Fatty Acids, Nonesterified / Q000097:blood; D005526:Food, Formulated; D005990:Glycerol / Q000097:blood; D005994:Glycerophosphates / Q000378:metabolism; D006003:Glycogen / Q000378:metabolism; D006801:Humans; D007328:Insulin / Q000097:blood; D019344:Lactic Acid / Q000097:blood; D008297:Male; D018482:Muscle, Skeletal / Q000378:metabolism; D005082:Physical Exertion / Q000502:physiology*; D011494:Protein Kinases / Q000378:metabolism; D017346:Protein Serine-Threonine Kinases; D011659:Pulmonary Gas Exchange / Q000502:physiology; D000081382:Pyruvate Dehydrogenase Acetyl-Transferring Kinase; D011768:Pyruvate Dehydrogenase Complex / Q000378:metabolism*; D019289:Pyruvic Acid / Q000378:metabolism* / Q000494:pharmacology; D012016:Reference Values
D001786:Blood Glucose; D004040:Dietary Carbohydrates; D005230:Fatty Acids, Nonesterified; D005994:Glycerophosphates; D007328:Insulin; D000081382:Pyruvate Dehydrogenase Acetyl-Transferring Kinase; D011768:Pyruvate Dehydrogenase Complex; D019344:Lactic Acid; D000108:Acetylcarnitine; D000105:Acetyl Coenzyme A; D019289:Pyruvic Acid; D006003:Glycogen; D011494:Protein Kinases; D017346:Protein Serine-Threonine Kinases; D005990:Glycerol; D020155:3-Hydroxybutyric Acid