PPARalpha gene variation and physical performance in Russian athletes.
Peroxisome proliferator-activated receptor alpha (PPARalpha) regulates genes responsible for skeletal and heart muscle fatty acid oxidation. Previous studies have shown that the PPARalpha intron 7 G/C polymorphism was associated with left ventricular growth in response to exercise. We speculated that GG homozygotes should be more prevalent within a group of endurance-oriented athletes, have normal fatty acid metabolism, and increased percentages of slow-twitch fibers. We have tested this hypothesis in the study of a mixed cohort of 786 Russian athletes in 13 different sporting disciplines prospectively stratified by performance (endurance-oriented athletes, power-oriented athletes and athletes with mixed endurance/power activity). PPARalpha intron 7 genotype and allele frequencies were compared to 1,242 controls. We found an increasing linear trend of C allele with increasing anaerobic component of physical performance (P=0.029). GG genotype frequencies in endurance-oriented and power-oriented athletes were 80.3 and 50.6%, respectively, and were significantly (P<0.0001) different compared to controls (70.0%). To examine the association between PPARalpha gene variant and fiber type composition, muscle biopsies from m. vastus lateralis were obtained and analyzed in 40 young men. GG homozygotes (n=25) had significantly (P=0.003) higher percentages of slow-twitch fibers (55.5+/-2.0 vs 38.5+/-2.3%) than CC homozygotes (n=4). In conclusion, PPARalpha intron 7 G/C polymorphism was associated with physical performance in Russian athletes, and this may be explained, in part, by the association between PPARalpha genotype and muscle fiber type composition.
Ahmetov
Ildus I
II
Sports Genetics Laboratory, St Petersburg Research Institute of Physical Culture, 2 Dynamo Street, 197110, St Petersburg, Russia. genoterra@mail.ru
Mozhayskaya
Irina A
IA
Flavell
David M
DM
Astratenkova
Irina V
IV
Komkova
Antonina I
AI
Lyubaeva
Ekaterina V
EV
Tarakin
Pavel P
PP
Shenkman
Boris S
BS
Vdovina
Anastasia B
AB
Netreba
Aleksei I
AI
Popov
Daniil V
DV
Vinogradova
Olga L
OL
Montgomery
Hugh E
HE
Rogozkin
Viktor A
VA
D000328:Adult; D005260:Female; D014644:Genetic Variation / Q000235:genetics; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D018482:Muscle, Skeletal / Q000166:cytology* / Q000502:physiology*; D047493:PPAR alpha / Q000235:genetics*; D010807:Physical Endurance / Q000235:genetics*; D011597:Psychomotor Performance / Q000502:physiology*; D012426:Russia / Q000453:epidemiology; D013177:Sports / Q000502:physiology* / Q000706:statistics & numerical data*
D047493:PPAR alpha