Study Explains How Exercise Improves Insulin Sensitivity

Mice that overexpress a protein that normally increases in muscle after exercise have improved glucose tolerance and insulin sensitivity and do not become obese even after eating a high-fat diet, according to a study published online March 5 in Endocrinology.

Yasuhide Fukatsu, from Kobe University Graduate School of Medicine in Japan, and colleagues analyzed changes in gene expression in the skeletal muscle of mice in response to exercise. After finding a twofold to threefold increase in heparin-binding epidermal growth factor-like growth factor (HB-EGF, also known as diphtheria toxin receptor) expression, they generated mice overexpressing HB-EGF specifically in skeletal muscle.

The researchers found that the mice had a higher respiratory quotient, indicating a preference for carbohydrate rather than fat as an energy source. They also had improved glucose tolerance, insulin sensitivity, and glucose uptake by skeletal muscle. When fed a high-fat diet, the mice were largely resistant to developing obesity, hepatic steatosis and insulin resistance.

From	Comment
Avera	March 18, 2009 4:15 AM It makes me feel good that so many studies are being done about insulin. Over the last few weeks many good articles have been written including this one. This time we learned that exercise helps with its performance.