Nutrition and endurance training induced mitochondrial biogenesis
Research type
Research Study
Full title
Effect of pre-exercise nutrition on mitochondrial biogenesis during endurance exercise training
IRAS ID
213812
Contact name
Andrew Philp
Contact email
Sponsor organisation
University of Birmingham
Duration of Study in the UK
1 years, 0 months, 1 days
Research summary
Mitochondria are often referred to as 'the powerhouses of the cell' for their role in energy production. As the site of aerobic energy production in the cell, mitochondria are therefore crucial in the utilisation of carbohydrates and fats for the production of energy. The content and function of skeletal muscle mitochondria declines during ageing and with inactivity. Importantly, this occurs concurrently with the development of chronic diseases such as type II diabetes, which is partially due to a reduced capacity of mitochondria to breakdown fat for energy production.
Encouragingly, mitochondrial content and function is enhanced following endurance exercise training. Additionally, there is some evidence that manipulating nutrition prior to exercise (i.e. eating before exercise (fed-state) or exercising following an overnight fast (fasted-state)) may influence the exercise-training induced increase in mitochondrial content and function. However, the adaptive mechanisms responsible for increasing mitochondrial content and function in skeletal muscle remains poorly understood. It remains unclear how, or indeed whether, exercise in an energy deficient state accentuates protein synthesis in this specific pool. Nonetheless, interpreting the effect of pre-exercise nutrition on these exercise-induced adaptations will provide important insight into the optimal integration of nutrition and exercise to improve mitochondrial function.
In this respect, we will investigate the hypothesis that exercising in the fasted-state will augment the exercise-induced upregulation of mitochondrial protein synthesis, mitochondrial content and, ultimately, function. The expected outcomes will help determine if exercising in the fasted state could be used to optimise the increase in skeletal muscle mitochondrial content and function following exercise.REC name
West Midlands - Black Country Research Ethics Committee
REC reference
17/WM/0001
Date of REC Opinion
7 Mar 2017
REC opinion
Further Information Favourable Opinion