Insulin-induced hypoglycemia in fed and fasted exercising rats.

To determine running performance and hormonal and metabolic responses during insulin-induced hypoglycemia, fed and fasted male rats (315 +/- 3 g) were infused with insulin (100 mU/ml, 1.5 ml/h) or saline (1.5 ml/h) for 60 min and then killed at rest or after running on the treadmill (21 m/min, 15% grade). Insulin-infused fed rats ran poorly during the second 10 min of a 20-min exercise test. They were capable of running a total of 43 +/- 5 min, compared with 138 +/- 6 min for saline-infused fed rats. Fasted insulin-infused rats were able to run only 12.8 +/- 0.8 min, compared with 122 +/- 15 min for fasted saline-infused rats. In fasted rats, blood glucose was 1.6 +/- 0.1 mM after 60 min of insulin infusion and 1.2 +/- 0.1 mM after running to exhaustion. Artificial increase of plasma free fatty acids had no effect on performance. Intravenous infusion of glucose at the time of fatigue produced an immediate recovery, allowing the formerly fatigued rats to run 20 min without development of fatigue. These results provide evidence that severe hypoglycemia can be a significant cause of fatigue, even if it occurs early in the course of an exercise bout.

Effects of exercise on insulin-induced hypoglycemia.

The purpose of this study was to determine the effect of exercise on the rate of onset of hypoglycemia induced by infusion of excess insulin (0.8 mU.min-1.100 g-1). Rats were either fasted overnight (FS) or fed ad libitum (FD). FS rats were killed after 5, 10, or 15 min of infusion at rest or after running on the treadmill at 21 m/min and 15% grade. FD rats were killed after 10, 20, or 40 min of infusion at rest or after exercise. Rats were also killed 15 min postexercise for FS and 60 or 120 min postexercise for FD with continued insulin infusion. The progressive decline in blood glucose was not altered by exercise in the FS rats. FD rats showed a significant difference due to exercise only after 40 min (rest 4.2 +/- 0.3 mM, exercise 3.2 +/- 0.2 mM). A significant postexercise repletion of glycogen was observed in red vastus and soleus muscles of FD rats despite the decreasing blood glucose values. These data indicate that exercise accelerates the rate of development of hypoglycemia in FD rats. In the FS rats, where the rate of decline in blood glucose was greater, exercise had no effect on the time course of development of hypoglycemia.

Time course of exercise-induced decline in malonyl-CoA in different muscle types.

Malonyl-CoA is a potent inhibitor of carnitine palmitoyltransferase I (CPT-I), the rate-limiting enzyme for fatty acid oxidation in mitochondria from liver of fed rats. Malonyl-CoA has also been demonstrated to inhibit skeletal muscle CPT-I. This study was designed to determine the rate of decline in malonyl-CoA in muscle during the course of a prolonged exercise bout. Adult male rats were anesthetized (pentobarbital sodium, intravenously) at rest or after running for 5, 10, 20, 30, 60, or 120 min on a treadmill (21 m/min, 15% grade). Malonyl-CoA was then quantitated in the soleus (type I fibers) and in the superficial white (type IIB) and deep red (type IIA) regions of the quadriceps. Malonyl-CoA decreased in red quadriceps from 2.8 +/- 0.2 to 1.4 +/- 0.2 pmol/mg after 5 min and to 0.9 +/- 0.1 pmol/mg after 20 min of exercise. The concentration of malonyl-CoA remained at this level for the duration of the exercise bout (120 min). In white quadriceps, resting values of malonyl-CoA were lower than in red quadriceps, and a significant decline was not observed until 30 min of exercise. A significant decrease in the soleus was observed after 20 min of exercise. This decline in muscle malonyl-CoA may be an important signal for allowing increased fatty acid oxidation during long-term exercise.

Muscle malonyl-CoA decreases during exercise.

Malonyl-CoA, the inhibitor of carnitine acyltransferase I, is an important regulator of fatty acid oxidation and ketogenesis in the liver. Muscle carnitine acyltransferase I has previously been reported to be more sensitive to malonyl-CoA inhibition than is liver carnitine acyltransferase I. Fluctuations in malonyl-CoA concentration may therefore be important in regulating the rate of fatty acid oxidation in muscle during exercise. Male rats were anesthetized (pentobarbital via venous catheters) at rest or after 30 min of treadmill exercise (21 m/min, 15% grade). The gastrocnemius/plantaris muscles were frozen at liquid N2 temperature. Muscle malonyl-CoA decreased from 1.66 +/- 0.17 to 0.60 +/- 0.05 nmol/g during the exercise. This change was accompanied by a 31% increase in cAMP in the muscle. The decline in malonyl-CoA occurred before muscle glycogen depletion and before onset of hypoglycemia. Plasma catecholamines, corticosterone, and free fatty acids were all significantly increased during the exercise. This exercise-induced decrease in malonyl-CoA may be important for allowing the increase in muscle fatty acid oxidation during exercise.

Effect of intravenous caffeine on muscle glycogenolysis in fasted exercising rats.

Caffeine has been reported to enhance performance by increasing fat utilization and by sparing liver and muscle glycogen. The lipolytic effect of caffeine has been reported to be diminished in response to previous carbohydrate loading of the subjects. The present study was designed to investigate the effects of caffeine during submaximal exercise in rats where the influence of dietary carbohydrate was removed by fasting. Rats were fasted overnight and given injection of 25 mg.kg-1 caffeine (CAF) or 0.9% NaCl (SAL) 60 min before exercise. They were run for 15, 30, and 60 min on a rodent treadmill up a 15% grade at 21 m.min-1. Plasma free fatty acids (FFA) were significantly elevated to 0.72 +/- 0.04 mM in CAF as compared to 0.45 +/- 0.03 mM in SAL at the beginning of exercise. During exercise, however, a significant difference in FFA levels between CAF and SAL was seen only at 30 min and not at other time points. No significant decrease in muscle glycogenolysis was observed in the CAF as compared to SAL rats, and the liver cyclic AMP remained the same in both CAF and SAL. Blood lactate (mM) showed an increase due to caffeine only at 15 min of exercise (CAF = 2.4 +/- 0.2; SAL = 1.7 +/- 0.3). Intravenous caffeine during exercise did not alter plasma glucagon or blood glucose. We conclude that caffeine has no effect on muscle glycogen utilization in fasted rats during exercise even though there was an increased FFA in CAF rats at the beginning of exercise.

Effect of caffeine on glycogenolysis during exercise in endurance trained rats.

Caffeine has been reported to enhance performance by increasing lipid oxidation and sparing liver and muscle glycogen in human subjects during prolonged endurance exercise. In the present study, the effects of intravenous caffeine on the liver and muscle glycogenolysis during exercise in endurance trained rats were investigated. Male endurance trained rats (2 h.d-1 for 6-7 wk) were given injections of 5 mg.kg-1 caffeine (5 CAF), 25 mg.kg-1 caffeine (25 CAF), or 0.9% sodium chloride (SAL) and were run on the treadmill for 45 min, 90 min, or until exhaustion at 26 m.min-1 up a 15% grade. Intravenous caffeine did not enhance the endurance run time: 5 CAF = 149 +/- 14 min, 25 CAF = 152 +/- 10 min, and SAL = 176 +/- 10 min. Caffeine did not influence the rate of liver glycogenolysis during exercise [liver glycogen (mmol glucose units.g-1) after 90 min: 5 CAF = 139 +/- 26, 25 CAF = 133 +/- 25, and SAL = 120 +/- 32]. Liver cAMP, muscle glycogen, plasma free fatty acids, blood glucose, and lactate were likewise not affected by caffeine [plasma free fatty acids (mM) after 90 min: 5 CAF = 0.42 +/- 0.04, 25 CAF = 0.45 +/- 0.07, and SAL = 0.41 +/- 0.05]. These data indicate that intravenous caffeine does not enhance the endurance run time or alter the plasma free fatty acids or liver and muscle glycogen utilization in endurance trained rats.

Liver fructose 2,6-bisphosphate in rats running at different treadmill speeds.

To determine the effect of work rate on liver fructose 2,6-bisphosphate (fructose 2,6-P2), rats were run for 5 min on a treadmill up a 15% grade at 16, 21, 26, 31, and 36 m/min. The liver content of fructose 2,6-P2 decreased 25, 42, 50, 62, and 71% from resting values after 5 min of running at these work rates. The time course of the decline in liver fructose 2,6-P2 was also studied in rats run at 16 m/min for times ranging from 5 to 100 min, at 23 m/min for times ranging from 5 to 60 min, and at 31 m/min for times of 5, 10, and 20 min. The hepatic content of fructose 2,6-P2 declined significantly after 5 min in all three groups of rats. The rate of decline was greatest in rats run at 31 m/min. After 100 min of running, fructose 2,6-P2 in livers of rats running at 16 m/min declined to levels seen in rats run at 31 m/min for 20 min. Changes in fructose 2,6-P2 occurred before a detectable decline in liver glycogen and in the absence of any significant change in blood glucose. Liver adenosine 3',5'-cyclic monophosphate (cAMP) was elevated after 5 min of exercise in rats running at 23 and 31 m/min but not in rats running at 16 m/min. By the end of exercise, hepatic cAMP was elevated in rats running at all speeds. The rapid decline in fructose 2,6-P2 probably plays a role in decreasing hepatic glycolysis, thereby ensuring that glucose 6-phosphate derived from glycogenolysis is diverted to blood glucose.

Effects of glucose infusion in exercising rats.

To determine whether feedforward control of liver glycogenolysis during exercise is subject to negative feedback by elevated blood glucose, glucose was infused into exercising rats at a rate that elevated blood glucose greater than 10 mM. Liver glycogen content decreased 22.4 mg/g in saline-infused rats compared with 13.6 mg/g in glucose-infused rats during the first 40 min of treadmill running (21 m/min, 15% grade). Liver adenosine 3',5'-cyclic monophosphate (cAMP) concentration was significantly lower in the glucose-infused rats during the exercise bout. The concentration of hepatic fructose 2,6-bisphosphate remained elevated throughout the exercise bout in glucose-infused rats but decreased markedly in saline-infused rats. Plasma insulin concentration was higher and plasma glucagon concentration lower in glucose-infused rats than in saline-infused rats during exercise. Early in exercise, liver glycogenolysis proceeds in the glucose-infused rats despite the fact that glucose and insulin concentrations are markedly elevated and liver cAMP is unchanged from resting values. These observations suggest the existence of a cAMP-independent feedforward system for activation of liver glycogenolysis that can override classical negative feedback mechanisms during exercise.

Adrenodemedullation affects endurance but not hepatic fructose 2,6-bisphosphate.

Sham-operated (SHAM) and saline (ADM-S)- or epinephrine (ADM-E)-infused adrenodemedullated rats were run on a treadmill (21 m/min, 15% grade) for 80 min or until exhaustion. ADM-S rats had significantly lower endurance run times (116 +/- 6 min) than ADM-E rats (136 +/- 8 min) and SHAM rats (150 +/- 6 min). Liver glycogen content dropped from 56 +/- 4 to 10 +/- 2 mg/g in SHAM and from 54 +/- 4 to 18 +/- 5 mg/g in ADM-S and to 20 +/- 8 mg/g in ADM-E rats at 80 min. Liver glycogen was depleted in all rats at exhaustion. Liver fructose 2,6-bisphosphate was decreased markedly in exercising rats, and the extent of decrease was not influenced by adrenodemedullation or by epinephrine infusion. ADM-S rats showed impaired glycogen depletion in the white vastus lateralis and soleus muscles, hypoglycemia, and low blood lactate at 80 min and at exhaustion. Infusion of epinephrine into ADM rats reversed these deficiencies. These data indicate that the adrenal medulla is unessential for normal endurance exercise as long as liver glycogen is available. After liver glycogen is depleted, epinephrine from the adrenal medulla prevents hypoglycemia and is essential for allowing continuation of exercise.