Skeletal muscle eEF2 and 4EBP1 phosphorylation during endurance exercise is dependent on intensity and muscle fiber type

2009 ◽  
Vol 296 (2) ◽  
pp. R326-R333 ◽  
Author(s):  
Adam J. Rose ◽  
Bruno Bisiani ◽  
Bodil Vistisen ◽  
Bente Kiens ◽  
Erik A. Richter

Protein synthesis in skeletal muscle is known to decrease during exercise, and it has been suggested that this may depend on the magnitude of the relative metabolic stress within the contracting muscle. To examine the mechanisms behind this, the effect of exercise intensity on skeletal muscle eukaryotic elongation factor 2 (eEF2) and eukaryotic initiation factor 4E binding protein 1 (4EBP1) phosphorylation, key components in the mRNA translation machinery, were examined together with AMP-activated protein kinase (AMPK) in healthy young men. Skeletal muscle eEF2 phosphorylation at Thr56 increased during exercise but was not influenced by exercise intensity, and was lower than rest 30 min after exercise. On the other hand, 4EBP1 phosphorylation at Thr37/46 decreased during exercise, and this decrease was greater at higher exercise intensities and was similar to rest 30 min after exercise. AMPK activity, as indexed by AMPK α-subunit phosphorylation at Thr172 and phosphorylation of the AMPK substrate ACCβ at Ser221, was higher with higher exercise intensities, and these indices were higher than rest after high-intensity exercise only. Using immunohistochemistry, it was shown that the increase in skeletal muscle eEF2 Thr56 phosphorylation was restricted to type I myofibers. Taken together, these data suggest that the depression of skeletal muscle protein synthesis with endurance-type exercise may be regulated at both initiation (i.e., 4EBP1) and elongation (i.e., eEF2) steps, with eEF2 phosphorylation contributing at all exercise intensities but 4EBP1 dephosphorylation contributing to a greater extent at high vs. low exercise intensities.

2005 ◽  
Vol 288 (5) ◽  
pp. E914-E921 ◽  
Author(s):  
Jeffery Escobar ◽  
Jason W. Frank ◽  
Agus Suryawan ◽  
Hanh V. Nguyen ◽  
Scot R. Kimball ◽  
...  

Protein synthesis in skeletal muscle of adult rats increases in response to oral gavage of supraphysiological doses of leucine. However, the effect on protein synthesis of a physiological rise in plasma leucine has not been investigated in neonates, an anabolic population highly sensitive to amino acids and insulin. Therefore, in the current study, fasted pigs were infused intra-arterially with leucine (0, 200, or 400 μmol·kg−1·h−1), and protein synthesis was measured after 60 or 120 min. Protein synthesis was increased in muscle, but not in liver, at 60 min. At 120 min, however, protein synthesis returned to baseline levels in muscle but was reduced below baseline values in liver. The increase in protein synthesis in muscle was associated with increased plasma leucine of 1.5- to 3-fold and no change in plasma insulin. Leucine infusion for 120 min reduced plasma essential amino acid levels. Phosphorylation of eukaryotic initiation factor (eIF)-4E-binding protein-1 (4E-BP1), ribosomal protein (rp) S6 kinase, and rpS6 was increased, and the amount of eIF4E associated with its repressor 4E-BP1 was reduced after 60 and 120 min of leucine infusion. No change in these biomarkers of mRNA translation was observed in liver. Thus a physiological increase in plasma leucine stimulates protein synthesis in skeletal muscle of neonatal pigs in association with increased eIF4E availability for eIF4F assembly. This response appears to be insulin independent, substrate dependent, and tissue specific. The results suggest that the branched-chain amino acid leucine can act as a nutrient signal to stimulate protein synthesis in skeletal muscle of neonates.


2008 ◽  
Vol 295 (4) ◽  
pp. E868-E875 ◽  
Author(s):  
Agus Suryawan ◽  
Asumthia S. Jeyapalan ◽  
Renan A. Orellana ◽  
Fiona A. Wilson ◽  
Hanh V. Nguyen ◽  
...  

Skeletal muscle in the neonate grows at a rapid rate due in part to an enhanced sensitivity to the postprandial rise in amino acids, particularly leucine. To elucidate the molecular mechanism by which leucine stimulates protein synthesis in neonatal muscle, overnight-fasted 7-day-old piglets were treated with rapamycin [an inhibitor of mammalian target of rapamycin (mTOR) complex (mTORC)1] for 1 h and then infused with leucine for 1 h. Fractional rates of protein synthesis and activation of signaling components that lead to mRNA translation were determined in skeletal muscle. Rapamycin completely blocked leucine-induced muscle protein synthesis. Rapamycin markedly reduced raptor-mTOR association, an indicator of mTORC1 activation. Rapamycin blocked the leucine-induced phosphorylation of mTOR, S6 kinase 1 (S6K1), and eukaryotic initiation factor (eIF)4E-binding protein-1 (4E-BP1) and formation of the eIF4E·eIF4G complex and increased eIF4E·4E-BP1 complex abundance. Rapamycin had no effect on the association of mTOR with rictor, a crucial component for mTORC2 activation, or G protein β-subunit-like protein (GβL), a component of mTORC1 and mTORC2. Neither leucine nor rapamycin affected the phosphorylation of AMP-activated protein kinase (AMPK), PKB, or tuberous sclerosis complex (TSC)2, signaling components that reside upstream of mTOR. Eukaryotic elongation factor (eEF)2 phosphorylation was not affected by leucine or rapamycin, although current dogma indicates that eEF2 phosphorylation is mTOR dependent. Together, these in vivo data suggest that leucine stimulates muscle protein synthesis in neonates by enhancing mTORC1 activation and its downstream effectors.


2001 ◽  
Vol 11 (s1) ◽  
pp. S150-S163 ◽  
Author(s):  
Peter A. Farrell

Skeletal muscle proteins are constantly being synthesized and degraded, and the net balance between synthesis and degradation determines the resultant muscle mass. Biochemical pathways that control protein synthesis are complex, and the following must be considered: gene transcription, mRNA splicing, and transport to the cytoplasm; specific amino acyl-tRNA, messenger (mRNA), ribosomal (rRNA) availability; amino acid availability within the cell; the hormonal milieu; rates of mRNA translation; packaging in vesicles for some types of proteins; and post-translational processing such as glycation and phosphorylation/dephosphorylation. Each of these processes is responsive to the need for greater or lesser production of new proteins, and many states such as sepsis, uncontrolled diabetes, prolonged bed-rest, aging, chronic alcohol treatment, and starvation cause marked reductions in rates of skeletal muscle protein synthesis. In contrast, acute and chronic resistance exercise cause elevations in rates of muscle protein synthesis above rates found in nondiseased rested organisms, which are normally fed. Resistance exercise may be unique in this capacity. This chapter focuses on studies that have used exercise to elucidate mechanisms that explain elevations in rates of protein synthesis. Very few studies have investigated the effects of aging on these mechanisms; however, the literature that is available is reviewed.


2010 ◽  
Vol 299 (3) ◽  
pp. R935-R944 ◽  
Author(s):  
Charles H. Lang ◽  
Christopher J. Lynch ◽  
Thomas C. Vary

Endotoxin (LPS) and sepsis decrease mammalian target of rapamycin (mTOR) activity in skeletal muscle, thereby reducing protein synthesis. Our study tests the hypothesis that inhibition of branched-chain amino acid (BCAA) catabolism, which elevates circulating BCAA and stimulates mTOR, will blunt the LPS-induced decrease in muscle protein synthesis. Wild-type (WT) and mitochondrial branched-chain aminotransferase (BCATm) knockout mice were studied 4 h after Escherichia coli LPS or saline. Basal skeletal muscle protein synthesis was increased in knockout mice compared with WT, and this change was associated with increased eukaryotic initiation factor (eIF)-4E binding protein-1 (4E-BP1) phosphorylation, eIF4E·eIF4G binding, 4E-BP1·raptor binding, and eIF3·raptor binding without a change in the mTOR·raptor complex in muscle. LPS decreased muscle protein synthesis in WT mice, a change associated with decreased 4E-BP1 phosphorylation as well as decreased formation of eIF4E·eIF4G, 4E-BP1·raptor, and eIF3·raptor complexes. In BCATm knockout mice given LPS, muscle protein synthesis only decreased to values found in vehicle-treated WT control mice, and this ameliorated LPS effect was associated with a coordinate increase in 4E-BP1·raptor, eIF3·raptor, and 4E-BP1 phosphorylation. Additionally, the LPS-induced increase in muscle cytokines was blunted in BCATm knockout mice, compared with WT animals. In a separate study, 7-day survival and muscle mass were increased in BCATm knockout vs. WT mice after polymicrobial peritonitis. These data suggest that elevating blood BCAA is sufficient to ameliorate the catabolic effect of LPS on skeletal muscle protein synthesis via alterations in protein-protein interactions within mTOR complex-1, and this may provide a survival advantage in response to bacterial infection.


2003 ◽  
Vol 285 (6) ◽  
pp. E1205-E1215 ◽  
Author(s):  
Charles H. Lang ◽  
Robert A. Frost ◽  
Nobuko Deshpande ◽  
Vinayshree Kumar ◽  
Thomas C. Vary ◽  
...  

Acute alcohol (EtOH) intoxication impairs skeletal muscle protein synthesis. Although this impairment is not associated with a decrease in the total plasma amino acid concentration, EtOH may blunt the anabolic response to amino acids. To examine this hypothesis, rats were administered EtOH or saline (Sal) and 2.5 h thereafter were orally administered either leucine (Leu) or Sal. The gastrocnemius was removed 20 min later to assess protein synthesis and signaling components important in translational control of protein synthesis. Oral Leu increased muscle protein synthesis by the same magnitude in Sal- and EtOH-treated rats. However, the increase in the latter group was insufficient to overcome the suppressive effect of EtOH, and the rate of synthesis remained lower than that observed in rats from the Sal-Sal group. Leu markedly increased phosphorylation of Thr residues 36, 47, and 70 on 4E-binding protein (BP)1 in muscle from rats not receiving EtOH, and this response was associated with a redistribution of eukaryotic initiation factor (eIF) 4E from the inactive eIF4E · 4E-BP1 to the active eIF4E · eIF4G complex. In EtOH-treated rats, the Leu-induced phosphorylation of 4E-BP1 and changes in eIF4E availability were partially abrogated. EtOH also prevented the Leu-induced increase in phosphorylation of eIF4G, the serine/threonine protein kinase S6K1, and the ribosomal protein S6. Moreover, EtOH attenuated the Leu-induced phosphorylation of the mammalian target of rapamycin (mTOR). The ability of EtOH to blunt the anabolic effects of Leu could not be attributed to differences in the plasma concentrations of insulin, insulin-like growth factor I, or Leu. Finally, although EtOH increased the plasma corticosterone concentration, inhibition of glucocorticoid action by RU-486 was unable to prevent EtOH-induced defects in the ability of Leu to stimulate 4E-BP1, S6K1, and mTOR phosphorylation. Hence, ethanol produces a leucine resistance in skeletal muscle, as evidenced by the impaired phosphorylation of 4E-BP1, eIF4G, S6K1, and mTOR, that is independent of elevations in endogenous glucocorticoids.


2010 ◽  
Vol 299 (2) ◽  
pp. E241-E248 ◽  
Author(s):  
Alexander P. Tuckow ◽  
Thomas C. Vary ◽  
Scot R. Kimball ◽  
Leonard S. Jefferson

Eukaryotic initiation factor 2B (eIF2B) is a guanine nucleotide exchange factor (GEF) whose activity is both tightly regulated and rate-controlling with regard to global rates of protein synthesis. Skeletal muscle eIF2B activity and expression of its catalytic ε-subunit (eIF2Bε) have been implicated as potential contributors to the altered rates of protein synthesis in a number of physiological conditions and experimental models. The objective of this study was to directly examine the effects of exogenously expressed eIF2Bε in vivo on GEF activity and protein synthetic rates in rat skeletal muscle. A plasmid encoding FLAG-eIF2Bε was transfected into the tibialis anterior (TA) of one leg, while the contralateral TA received a control plasmid. Ectopic expression of eIF2Bε resulted in increased GEF activity in TA homogenates of healthy rats, demonstrating that the expressed protein was catalytically active. In an effort to restore a deficit in eIF2B activity, we utilized an established model of chronic sepsis in which skeletal muscle eIF2B activity is known to be impaired. Ectopic expression of eIF2Bε in the TA rescued the sepsis-induced deficit in GEF activity and muscle protein synthesis. The results demonstrate that modulation of eIF2Bε expression may be sufficient to correct deficits in skeletal muscle protein synthesis associated with sepsis and other muscle-wasting conditions.


2002 ◽  
Vol 283 (5) ◽  
pp. E1032-E1039 ◽  
Author(s):  
Thomas C. Vary ◽  
Gina Deiter ◽  
Scot R. Kimball

We reported that the inhibition of protein synthesis in skeletal muscle during sepsis correlated with reduced eukaryotic initiation factor eIF2B activity. The present studies define changes in eIF2Bε phosphorylation in gastrocnemius of septic animals. eIF2B kinase activity was significantly elevated 175% by sepsis compared with sterile inflammation, whereas eIF2B phosphatase activity was unaffected. Phosphorylation of eIF2Bε-Ser535 was significantly augmented over 2-fold and 2.5-fold after 3 and 5 days and returned to control values after 10 days of sepsis. Phosphorylation of glycogen synthase kinase-3 (GSK-3), a potential upstream kinase responsible for the elevated phosphorylation of eIF2Bε, was significantly reduced over 36 and 41% after 3 and 5 days and returned to control values after 10 days of sepsis. The phosphorylation of PKB, a kinase thought to directly phosphorylate and inactivate GSK-3, was significantly reduced ∼50% on day 3, but not on days 5 or 10, postinfection compared with controls. Treatment of septic rats with TNF-binding protein prevented the sepsis-induced changes in eIF2Bε and GSK-3 phosphorylation, implicating TNF in mediating the effects of sepsis. Thus increased phosphorylation of eIF2Bε via activation of GSK-3 is an important mechanism to account for the inhibition of skeletal muscle protein synthesis during sepsis. Furthermore, the study presents the first demonstration of changes in eIF2Bε phosphorylation in vivo.


2002 ◽  
Vol 282 (2) ◽  
pp. E336-E347 ◽  
Author(s):  
Charles H. Lang ◽  
Robert A. Frost ◽  
Angus C. Nairn ◽  
David A. MacLean ◽  
Thomas C. Vary

This study examined potential mechanisms contributing to the inhibition of protein synthesis in skeletal muscle and heart after administration of tumor necrosis factor (TNF)-α. Rats had vascular catheters implanted, and TNF-α was infused continuously for 24 h. TNF-α decreased in vivo-determined rates of global protein synthesis in gastrocnemius (39%) and heart (25%). The TNF-α-induced decrease in protein synthesis in the gastrocnemius involved a reduction in the synthesis of both myofibrillar and sarcoplasmic proteins. To identify potential mechanisms responsible for regulating mRNA translation, we examined several eukaryotic initiation factors (eIFs) and elongation factors (eEFs). TNF-α decreased the activity of eIF-2B in muscle (39%) but not in heart. This diminished activity was not caused by a reduction in the content of eIF-2Bε or the content and phosphorylation state of eIF-2α. Skeletal muscle and heart from TNF-α-treated rats demonstrated 1) an increased binding of the translation repressor 4E-binding protein-1 (4E-BP1) with eIF-4E, 2) a decreased amount of eIF-4E associated with eIF-4G, and 3) a decreased content of the hyperphosphorylated γ-form of 4E-BP1. In contrast, the infusion of TNF-α did not alter the content of eEF-1α or eEF-2, or the phosphorylation state of eEF-2. In summary, these data suggest that TNF-α impairs skeletal muscle and heart protein synthesis, at least in part, by decreasing mRNA translational efficiency resulting from an impairment in translation initiation associated with alterations in eIF-4E availability.


2005 ◽  
Vol 289 (3) ◽  
pp. E382-E390 ◽  
Author(s):  
Ly Q. Hong-Brown ◽  
Anne M. Pruznak ◽  
Robert A. Frost ◽  
Thomas C. Vary ◽  
Charles H. Lang

The HIV protease inhibitor indinavir adversely impairs carbohydrate and lipid metabolism, whereas its influence on protein metabolism under in vivo conditions remains unknown. The present study tested the hypothesis that indinavir also decreases basal protein synthesis and impairs the anabolic response to insulin in skeletal muscle. Indinavir was infused intravenously for 4 h into conscious rats, at which time the homeostasis model assessment of insulin resistance was increased. Indinavir decreased muscle protein synthesis by 30%, and this reduction was due to impaired translational efficiency. To identify potential mechanisms responsible for regulating mRNA translation, several eukaryotic initiation factors (eIFs) were examined. Under basal fasted conditions, there was a redistribution of eIF4E from the active eIF4E·eIF4G complex to the inactive eIF4E·4E-BP1 complex, and this change was associated with a marked decrease in the phosphorylation of 4E-BP1 in muscle. Likewise, indinavir decreased constitutive phosphorylation of eIF4G and mTOR in muscle, but not S6K1 or the ribosomal protein S6. In contrast, the ability of a maximally stimulating dose of insulin to increase the phosphorylation of PKB, 4E-BP1, S6K1, or mTOR was not altered 20 min after intravenous injection. Indinavir increased mRNA expression of the ubiquitin ligase MuRF1, but the plasma concentration of 3-methylhistidine remained unaltered. These indinavir-induced changes were associated with a marked reduction in the plasma testosterone concentration but were independent of changes in plasma levels of IGF-I, corticosterone, TNF-α, or IL-6. In conclusion, indinavir acutely impairs basal protein synthesis and translation initiation in skeletal muscle but, in contrast to muscle glucose uptake, does not impair insulin-stimulated signaling of protein synthetic pathways.


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