Adaptations of skeletal muscle to exercise: rapid increase in the transcriptional coactivator PGC‐1

Endurance exercise induces increases in mitochondria and the GLUT4 isoform of the glucose transporter in muscle. Although little is known about the mechanisms underlying these adaptations, new information has accumulated regarding how mitochondrial biogenesis and GLUT4 expression are regulated. This includes the findings that the transcriptional coactivator PGC-1 promotes mitochondrial biogenesis and that NRF-1 and NRF-2 act as transcriptional activators of genes encoding mitochondrial enzymes. We tested the hypothesis that increases in PGC-1, NRF-1, and NRF-2 are involved in the initial adaptive response of muscle to exercise. Five daily bouts of swimming induced increases in mitochondrial enzymes and GLUT4…