Effect of exercise training on muscle glucose transporter 4 protein and intramuscular lipid content in elderly men with impaired glucose tolerance

This study determined the effects of exercise training on adaptations of skeletal muscle including fibre composition, capillarity, intra-muscular triglyceride concentration (IMTG), as well as glucose transporter 4 protein (GLUT4) and metabolic enzyme activities. Percutaneous muscle biopsies from the vastus lateralis muscle were obtained from non-obese elderly Korean men (n = 10; age range 58 - 67 years) with impaired glucose tolerance. Subjects performed 12 weeks of endurance exercise training ( 60 - 70% of the heart rate reserve). The training program improved the total GLUT4 protein expression (P< 0.01), decreased the IMTG, increased the fatty acid oxidation capacity, and the number of capillaries around type 1 fibres ( P< 0.05), whereas no significant alteration was observed around type II fibres. All data are presented as the means together with the standard deviation. The results suggest that endurance training evokes morphological and biochemical changes in the skeletal muscle of elderly men with impaired glucose tolerance that may be considered to limit the development of type 2 diabetes.