Autophagy and Exercise: Current Insights and Future Research
                    Directions

Javier Botella; Christopher S Shaw; David J Bishop

doi:10.1055/a-2153-9258

International Journal of Sports Medicine, Table of Contents

Int J Sports Med 2024; 45(03): 171-182
DOI: 10.1055/a-2153-9258

Review

Autophagy and Exercise: Current Insights and Future Research Directions

Javier Botella

¹Metabolic Research Unit, School of Medicine and Institute for Mental and Physical Health and Clinical Translation (IMPACT), Deakin University, Waurn Ponds, Victoria, Australia

,

Christopher S Shaw

²Institute for Physical Activity and Nutrition (IPAN), School of Exercise and Nutrition Sciences, Deakin University, Geelong, 3216, VIC, Australia

,

David J Bishop

³Institute for Health and Sport (iHeS), Victoria University, Melbourne, Australia

› Author Affiliations

Abstract

Autophagy is a cellular process by which proteins and organelles are degraded inside the lysosome. Exercise is known to influence the regulation of autophagy in skeletal muscle. However, as gold standard techniques to assess autophagy flux in vivo are restricted to animal research, important gaps remain in our understanding of how exercise influences autophagy activity in humans. Using available datasets, we show how the gene expression profile of autophagy receptors and ATG8 family members differ between human and mouse skeletal muscle, providing a potential explanation for their differing exercise-induced autophagy responses. Furthermore, we provide a comprehensive view of autophagy regulation following exercise in humans by summarizing human transcriptomic and phosphoproteomic datasets that provide novel targets of potential relevance. These newly identified phosphorylation sites may provide an explanation as to why both endurance and resistance exercise lead to an exercise-induced reduction in LC3B-II, while possibly divergently regulating autophagy receptors, and, potentially, autophagy flux. We also provide recommendations to use ex vivo autophagy flux assays to better understand the influence of exercise, and other stimuli, on autophagy regulation in humans. This review provides a critical overview of the field and directs researchers towards novel research areas that will improve our understanding of autophagy regulation following exercise in humans.

Key words

autophagy - LC3 - autophagosome - exercise - training - skeletal muscle

Full Text

References

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