Deficiency of the hepatokine selenoprotein P increases responsiveness to exercise in mice through upregulation of reactive oxygen species and AMP-activated protein kinase in muscle

Exercise has numerous health-promoting effects in humans(1); however, individual responsiveness to exercise with regard to endurance or metabolic health differs markedly(2-4). This 'exercise resistance' is considered to be congenital, with no evident acquired causative factors. Here we show that the anti-oxidative hepatokine selenoprotein P (SeP)(5-7) causes exercise resistance through its muscle receptor low-density lipoprotein receptor-related protein 1 (LRP1)(8). SeP-deficient mice showed a 'super-endurance' phenotype after exercise training, as well as enhanced reactive oxygen species (ROS) production, AMP-activated protein kinase (AMPK) phosphorylation(9) and peroxisome proliferative activated receptor gamma coactivator (Ppargc)-1 alpha (also known as PGC-1 alpha; encoded by Ppargc1a)(10) expression in skeletal muscle. Supplementation with the anti-oxidant N-acetylcysteine (NAC) reduced ROS production and the endurance capacity in SeP-deficient mice. SeP treatment impaired hydrogen-peroxide-induced adaptations through LRP1 in cultured myotubes and suppressed exercise-induced AMPK phosphorylation and Ppargc1a gene expression in mouse skeletal muscle-effects which were blunted in mice with a muscle-specific LRP1 deficiency. Furthermore, we found that increased amounts of circulating SeP predicted the ineffectiveness of training on endurance capacity in humans. Our study suggests that inhibitors of the SeP-LRP1 axis may function as exercise-enhancing drugs to treat diseases associated with a sedentary lifestyle.