The mechanisms of autophagy have been related to Alzheimer's disease (AD) pathogenesis by the endosomal‐lysosomal system, having a critical function in forming amyloid‐β (Aβ) plaques. Nevertheless, ...the exact mechanisms mediating disease pathogenesis remain unclear. The transcription factor EB (TFEB), a primary transcriptional autophagy regulator, improves gene expression, mediating lysosome function, autophagic flux, and autophagosome biogenesis. In this review, we present for the first time the hypothesis of how TFEB, autophagy, and mitochondrial function are interconnected in AD, providing a logical foundation for unraveling the critical role of chronic physical exercise in this process. Aerobic exercise training promotes Adiponectin Receptor 1 (AdipoR1)/AMP‐activated protein kinase (AMPK)/TFEB axis activation in the brain of the AD animal model, which contributes to alleviated Aβ deposition and neuronal apoptosis while improving cognitive function. Moreover, TFEB upregulates Peroxisome proliferator‐activated receptor gamma coactivator 1‐alpha (PGC‐1α) and nuclear factor erythroid 2‐related factor 2 (NRF‐2), improving mitochondrial biogenesis and redox status. In addition, tissue contraction activates calcineurin in skeletal muscle, which induces TFEB nuclear translocation, raising the hypothesis that the same would occur in the brain. Thus, a deep and comprehensive exploration of the TFEB could provide new directions and strategies for preventing AD. We conclude that chronic exercise can be an effective TFEB activator, inducing autophagy and mitochondrial biogenesis, representing a potential nonpharmacological strategy contributing to brain health.
Chronic exercise induces cardiac remodeling that promotes left ventricular hypertrophy and cardiac functional improvement, which are mediated by the mammalian or the mechanistic target of rapamycin ...(mTOR) as well as by the androgen and glucocorticoid receptors (GRs). However, pathological conditions (i.e., chronic heart failure, hypertension, and aortic stenosis, etc.) also induce cardiac hypertrophy, but with detrimental function, high levels of proinflammatory cytokines and myostatin, elevated fibrosis, reduced adenosine monophosphate‐activated protein kinase (AMPK) activation, and fetal gene reactivation. Furthermore, recent studies have evidenced that excessive training induced an inflammatory status in the serum, muscle, hypothalamus, and liver, suggesting a pathological condition that could also be detrimental to cardiac tissue. Here, we verified the effects of three running overtraining (OT) models on the molecular parameters related to physiological and pathological cardiac hypertrophy. C57BL/6 mice performed three different OT protocols and were evaluated for molecular parameters related to physiological and pathological cardiac hypertrophy, including immunoblotting, reverse transcription polymerase chain reaction, histology, and immunohistochemistry analyses. In summary, the three OT protocols induced left ventricle (LV) hypertrophy with signs of cardiac fibrosis and negative morphological adaptations. These maladaptations were accompanied by reductions in AMPKalpha (Thr172) phosphorylation, androgen receptor, and GR expressions, as well as by an increase in interleukin‐6 expression. Specifically, the downhill running–based OT model reduced the content of some proteins related to the mTOR signaling pathway and upregulated the β‐isoform of myosin heavy‐chain gene expression, presenting signs of LV pathological hypertrophy development.
(a) Overtraining protocols induced left ventricle hypertrophy with signs of cardiac fibrosis and negative morphological adaptations. (b) The downhill running–based overtraining model reduced the content of some proteins related to the mechanistic target of the rapamycin signaling pathway and upregulated the β‐myosin heavy‐chain gene expression.
The endoplasmic reticulum (ER) is an organelle responsible for the post‐translational folding and modification of proteins. Under stress conditions, such as physical exercise, there is accumulation ...of misfolded proteins. The increased load of proteins in the ER results in ER stress, which activates the unfolded protein response (UPR). UPR is comprised of three parallel pathways, responsible for ensuring the quality of secreted proteins. Scientific studies show that resistance or endurance acute physical exercise can induce ER stress and activate the UPR pathways. On the other hand, regular moderate‐intensity exercise can attenuate the responses of genes and proteins related to ER stress. However, these positive adaptations do not occur when exercise intensity and volume increase without adequate rest periods, which is observed in overtraining. The current review discusses the frontier‐of‐knowledge findings on the effects of different acute and chronic physical exercise protocols on skeletal muscle ER stress and its metabolic consequences.
Obesity-induced endoplasmatic reticulum (ER) stress has been demonstrated to underlie the induction of obesity-induced JNK and NF-κB activation inflammatory responses, and generation of peripheral ...insulin resistance. On the other hand, exercise has been used as a crucial tool in obese and diabetic patients, and may reduce inflammatory pathway stimulation. However, the ability of exercise training to reverse endoplasmatic reticulum stress in adipose and hepatic tissue in obesity has not been investigated in the literature. Here, we demonstrate that exercise training ameliorates ER stress and insulin resistance in DIO-induced rats. Rats were fed with standard rodent chow (3,948 kcal kg
−1
) or high-fat diet (5,358 kcal kg
−1
) for 2 months. After that rats were submitted to swimming training (1 h per day, 5 days for week with 5% overload of the body weight for 8 weeks). Samples from epididymal fat and liver were obtained and western blot analysis was performed. Our results showed that swimming protocol reduces pro-inflammatory molecules (JNK, IκB and NF-κB) in adipose and hepatic tissues. In addition, exercise leads to reduction in ER stress, by reducing PERK and eIF2α phosphorylation in these tissues. In parallel, an increase in insulin pathway signaling was observed, as confirmed by increases in IR, IRSs and Akt phosphorylation following exercise training in DIO rats. Thus, results suggest that exercise can reduce ER stress, improving insulin resistance in adipose and hepatic tissue.
The purpose of this study was to verify the effects of overtraining (OT) on insulin, inflammatory and gluconeogenesis signaling pathways in the livers of mice. Rodents were divided into control (CT), ...overtrained by downhill running (OTR/down), overtrained by uphill running (OTR/up) and overtrained by running without inclination (OTR). Rotarod, incremental load, exhaustive and grip force tests were used to evaluate performance. Thirty-six hours after a grip force test, the livers were extracted for subsequent protein analyses. The phosphorylation of insulin receptor beta (pIRbeta), glycogen synthase kinase 3 beta (pGSK3beta) and forkhead box O1 (pFoxo1) increased in OTR/down versus CT. pGSK3beta was higher in OTR/up versus CT, and pFoxo1 was higher in OTR/up and OTR versus CT. Phosphorylation of protein kinase B (pAkt) and insulin receptor substrate 1 (pIRS-1) were higher in OTR/up versus CT and OTR/down. The phosphorylation of IκB kinase alpha and beta (pIKKalpha/beta) was higher in all OT protocols versus CT, and the phosphorylation of stress-activated protein kinases/Jun amino-terminal kinases (pSAPK-JNK) was higher in OTR/down versus CT. Protein levels of peroxisome proliferator-activated receptor-gamma coactivator 1alpha (PGC-1alpha) and hepatocyte nuclear factor 4alpha (HNF-4alpha) were higher in OTR versus CT. In summary, OTR/down improved the major proteins of insulin signaling pathway but up-regulated TRB3, an Akt inhibitor, and its association with Akt.
The transcriptional repressor REV-ERB-α, encoded by Nuclear Receptor Subfamily 1 Group D Member 1 (Nr1d1), has been considered to play an essential role in the skeletal muscle oxidative capacity ...adaptation and muscle mass control. Also, this molecule regulates autophagy via the repression of autophagy-related genes both in skeletal muscle and brain regions. Classically, training programs based on endurance or strength characteristics enhance skeletal muscle mass content and/or oxidative capacity, leading to autophagy activation in several tissues. Thus, it seems that REV-ERB-α regulates similar responses induced by exercise. However, how this molecule responds to different exercise models/intensities in different tissues is still unclear. Therefore, the main aim was to characterize the responses of REV-ERB-α and autophagy-related genes to different exercise protocols (endurance/interval run/strength) in distinct tissues (gastrocnemius, soleus and hippocampus). Since REV-ERB-α presents a circadian rhythm, the analyses were performed in a time-course manner. The endurance and strength groups attenuated REV-ERB-α transcriptional response during the time course in gastrocnemius and soleus. Conversely, the interval group enhanced the Nr1d1 expression in the hippocampus. All protocols downregulated the REV-ERB-α protein levels in gastrocnemius following the exercise session with concomitant nuclear exclusion. The major autophagy-related genes presented downregulation after the exercise session in all analyzed tissues. Altogether, these results highlight that REV-ERB-α is extremely sensitive to physical exercise stimuli, including different models and intensities in skeletal muscle and the hippocampus.
Nicotinamide Riboside (NR) is a NAD+ booster with wide physiological repercussion including the improvement on glucose and lipid homeostasis, increasing the life expectancy in mammals. However, the ...effects of NR on metabolism are only partially known. Here, we evaluated the effects of NR on the thermogenic response, highlighting the brown adipose tissue (BAT) in lean mice.
Male C57BL/67 mice were supplement with NR (400 mg/Kg/day) during 5 weeks. The Comprehensive Lab Animal Monitoring System (CLAMS) and thermographic images were used to evaluated the physiological effects of NR treatment. The BAT were extracted and analyzed by Western Blotting and qPCR. Also, bioinformatics analyses were performed to establish the connection between the NAD+ synthesis pathway in BAT and thermogenic response in several isogenic strains of BXD mice.
Transcriptomic analysis revealed that genes involved in NAD+ synthesis (Nampt and Nmnat1) in the BAT were negatively correlated with body weight and fat mass. The heat map showed a strong positive correlation between Nampt and Ucp1 mRNA in BAT and body temperature in several strains of BXD lean mice. The experimental approaches demonstrated that oral NR supplementation reduced the abdominal visceral fat depots, with discrete impact on oxygen consumption in C57BL/6J mice. Interestingly, NR significantly increased the body temperature, and this phenomenon was accompanied by high levels of UCP1 protein content and Pgc1α mRNA in BAT.
This study demonstrated the oral NR supplementation was sufficient to induce the thermogenic response in lean mice changing the BAT metabolism.
•Excessive training leads to negative outcomes in multiple tissues.•Recent data about excessive training did not support the cytokine hypothesis.•Cytokines did not play a central role in performance ...decrement.
Chronic moderate-intensity exercise is an efficient non-pharmacological strategy to prevent and treat several diseases such as type 2 diabetes mellitus, cardiovascular and chronic obstructive pulmonary diseases, cancers, and Parkinson’s disease. On the other hand, improving an athlete’s performance requires completing high-intensity and volume exercise sessions. When the delicate balance between high-load exercise sessions and adequate recovery periods is disrupted, excessive training (known as overtraining) can lead to performance decline. The cytokine hypothesis considers that an imbalance involving excessive exercise and inadequate recovery induces musculoskeletal trauma, increasing the production and release of proinflammatory cytokines, mainly interleukin 6 (IL-6), tumor necrosis factor-alpha (TNF-alpha), and interleukin 1beta (IL-1beta), which interact with different organic systems, initiating most of the signs and symptoms linked to performance decrement. This leading article used recent data to discuss the scientific basis of Smith’s cytokine theory and highlighted that the adverse effects of excessive exercise go beyond performance decline, proposing a multi-organ approach for this issue. These recent insights will allow coaches and exercise physiologists to develop strategies to avoid chronic excessive exercise-induced adverse outcomes.
Physical exercise-induced skeletal muscle damage may be characterized by increased oxidative stress, inflammation, and apoptosis which may be beneficial when exercise is regular, but it is rather ...harmful when exercise is exhaustive and performed acutely by unaccustomed individuals. Molecular hydrogen (H
2
) has emerged as a potent antioxidant, anti-inflammatory, and anti-apoptotic agent, but its action on the deleterious effects of acute exhaustive exercise in muscle damage remain unknown. Therefore, we tested the hypothesis that H
2
decreases acute exhaustive exercise-induced skeletal muscle damage of sedentary rats. Rats ran to exhaustion on a sealed treadmill inhaling an H
2
-containing mixture or the control gas. We measured oxidative stress (SOD, GSH, and TBARS), inflammatory (TNF-α, IL-1β, IL-6, IL-10, and NF-κB phosphorylation), and apoptotic (expression of caspase-3, Bcl-2, and HSP70) markers. Exercise caused no changes in SOD activity but increased TBARS levels. H
2
caused increases in exercise-induced SOD activity and blunted exercise-induced increased TBARS levels. We observed exercise-induced TNF-α and IL-6 surges as well as NF-κB phosphorylation, which were blunted by H
2
. Exercise increased cleaved caspase-3 expression, and H
2
reduced this response. In conclusion, H
2
effectively downregulates muscle damage, reducing oxidative stress, inflammation, and apoptosis after acute exhaustive exercise performed by an unaccustomed organism.