The Effects of A High-Fat Diet on Pro- and Macro-Glycogen Accumulation and Mobilization During Exercise in Different Muscle Fiber Types and Tissues in Rats

We investigated the effects of diet manipulation on pro- and macro-glycogen accumulation and mobilization during exercise in different kinds of muscle fiber and tissue. Thirty-two Sprague-Dawley rats were divided into groups representing one of two dietary conditions: high fat (HF, n=16) or standard chow (CHOW, n=16). Each dietary group was fm1her divided into control (REST, n=8) and exercise (EXE, n=8). After an eight-week dietary intervention period, the animals in EXE swam for 3 hours while the animals in REST remained at rest Skeletal muscle (soleus, red gastrocnemius and white gastrocnemius) and liver samples were then dissected out and used for analyses. 1here was no statistical difference in body weight between the animals in the HF and mow groups (p>.05). Three hours of exercise significantly increased plasma free fatty acid (FFA) concentration in the animals in the CHOW group but not in the animals in the HF group. Both citrate. synthase (CS) and $\beta$-hydroxyacyl dehydrogenase ($\beta$-HAD) activities in skeletal muscles were higher in the HF group than in the mow group. CS and $\beta$-HAD activities were also the highest in red gastrocnemius and the lowest in white gastrocnemius. At both time points (i.e., rest and immediately after exercise) intramuscular triglyceride (IMTG) and liver TG concentrations were significantly higher in the HF compared to the CHOW. IMTG and liver TG changed selectively in the CHOW. Except in white gastrocnemius muscle, there was no significant difference in total glycogen content between HF and mow at rest. Although exercise significantly lowered total glycogen content in all groups and tissues (p<.05), the degree of reduction was markedly greater in the mow than in the HF. Whereas changes in proglycogen concentration showed a trend similar to those of total glycogen, alterations in macroglycogen concentrations clearly differed from those of total glycogen. Specifically, the degree of reduction of macroglycogen following three hours of exercise was substantially greater in the CHOW than in the HF. These results suggest that metabolic alterations induced by a long-term high fat diet may be caused by macro-glycogen rather than pro-glycogen.