High-Intensity Interval Training Attenuates Impairment in Regulatory Protein Machinery of Mitochondrial Quality Control in Skeletal Muscle of Diet-Induced Obese Mice

Abstract

Mitochondrial quality control processes are essential in governing mitochondrial integrity and function. The purpose of the study was to examine the effects of 10 weeks of HIIT on the regulatory protein machinery of skeletal muscle mitochondrial quality control and whole-body glucose homeostasis in diet-induced obese mice. Male C57BL/6 mice were randomly assigned to a low-fat diet (LFD) or high-fat diet (HFD) group. After 10 weeks, HFD-fed mice were divided into sedentary and HIIT (HFD+HIIT) groups and remained on HFD for another 10 weeks (n=9/group). Graded exercise test, glucose and insulin tolerance tests, mitochondrial respiration and regulatory protein markers of mitochondrial quality control processes were determined by immunoblots. Ten weeks of HIIT enhanced ADP-stimulated mitochondrial respiration in diet-induced obese mice (P < 0.05) but did not improve whole-body insulin sensitivity. Importantly, the ratio of Drp1(Ser ⁶¹⁶ ) over Drp1(Ser ⁶³⁷ ) phosphorylation, an indicator of mitochondrial fission, was attenuated in HFD-HIIT compared to HFD (-35.7%, P < 0.05). Regarding autophagy, skeletal muscle p62 content was lower in HFD group than LFD group (-35.1%, P < 0.05), however, such reduction was disappeared in HFD+HIIT group. In addition, LC3B II/I ratio was higher in HFD than LFD group (15.5%, P < 0.05) but was ameliorated in HFD+HIIT group (-29.9%, P < 0.05). Overall, our study demonstrated that 10 weeks of HIIT was effective in improving skeletal muscle mitochondrial respiration and the regulatory protein machinery of mitochondrial quality control in diet-induced obese mice through the alterations of mitochondrial fission protein Drp1 activity and p62/LC3B-mediated regulatory machinery of autophagy.