Exercise-induced molecular mechanisms for glycogen supercompensation in human skeletal muscle

A single bout of exercise followed by intake of carbohydrates leads to glycogen supercompensation in the prior exercised muscle. The molecular mechanisms underlying this well-known phenomenon remain elusive. Here we report that a single bout of exercise induces marked activation of glycogen synthase (GS) and AMP-activated protein kinase (AMPK) for several days beyond normalized muscle glycogen content in man. Acute muscle specific deletion of AMPK activity in mouse muscle abrogated the ability for glycogen supercompensation, providing genetic evidence that AMPK serves as essential driver for glycogen supercompensation. Muscle proteomic analyses revealed elevated glucose uptake capacity in the prior exercised muscle while key proteins in fat oxidation and glycolysis largely remained unchanged. The temporal order of these sustained cellular alterations induced by a single bout of exercise provide a mechanism to offset the otherwise tight feedback inhibition of glycogen synthesis and glucose uptake by glycogen, ultimately leading to muscle glycogen supercompensation.