A low maximal oxygen consumption (V̇o_2max) is a strong risk factor for premature mortality. Supervised endurance exercise training increases V̇o_2max with a very wide range of effectiveness in humans. Discovering the DNA variants that contribute to this heterogeneity typically requires substantial sample sizes. In the present study, we first use RNA expression profiling to produce a molecular classifier that predicts V̇o_2max training response. We then hypothesized that the classifier genes would harbor DNA variants that contributed to the heterogeneous V̇o_2max response. Two independent preintervention RNA expression data sets were generated ( n = 41 gene chips) from subjects that underwent supervised endurance training: one identified and the second blindly validated an RNA expression signature that predicted change in V̇o_2max (“predictor” genes). The HERITAGE Family Study ( n = 473) was used for genotyping. We discovered a 29-RNA signature that predicted V̇o_2max training response on a continuous scale; these genes contained ∼6 new single-nucleotide polymorphisms associated with gains in V̇o_2max in the HERITAGE Family Study. Three of four novel candidate genes from the HERITAGE Family Study were confirmed as RNA predictor genes (i.e., “reciprocal” RNA validation of a quantitative trait locus genotype), enhancing the performance of the 29-RNA-based predictor. Notably, RNA abundance for the predictor genes was unchanged by exercise training, supporting the idea that expression was preset by genetic variation. Regression analysis yielded a model where 11 single-nucleotide polymorphisms explained 23% of the variance in gains in V̇o_2max, corresponding to ∼50% of the estimated genetic variance for V̇o_2max. In conclusion, combining RNA profiling with single-gene DNA marker association analysis yields a strongly validated molecular predictor with meaningful explanatory power. V̇o_2max responses to endurance training can be predicted by measuring a ∼30-gene RNA expression signature in muscle prior to training. The general approach taken could accelerate the discovery of genetic biomarkers, sufficiently discrete for diagnostic purposes, for a range of physiological and pharmacological phenotypes in humans.

Endurance training leads to many adaptational changes in several tissues. In skeletal muscle, fatty acid usage is enhanced and mitochondrial content is increased. The exact molecular mechanisms regulating these functional and structural changes remain to be elucidated. Contractile activity-induced metabolic perturbation has repeatedly been shown to be important for the induction of mitochondrial biogenesis. Recent reports suggest that the peroxisome proliferator-activated receptor gamma coactivator 1α (PGC-1α)/mitochondrial transcription factor A (Tfam) pathway is involved in exercise-induced mitochondrial biogenesis. In the present study, nine healthy men performed two 45-min bouts of one-legged knee extension exercise: one bout with restricted blood flow, and the other with nonrestricted blood flow to the working muscle. Muscle biopsies were obtained from the vastus lateralis muscle before exercise and at 0, 30, 120, and 360 min after the exercise bout. Biopsies were analyzed for whole muscle, as well as fiber-type specific mRNA expression of myocyte-enriched calcineurin interacting protein (MCIP)-1, PGC-1α, and downstream mitochondrial transcription factors. A novel finding was that, in human skeletal muscle, PGC-1α mRNA increased more after exercise with restricted blood flow than in the nonrestricted condition. No changes were observed for the mRNA of NRF-1, Tfam, mitochondrial transcription factor B1, and mitochondrial transcription factor B2. Muscle fiber type I and type II did not differ in the basal PGC-1α mRNA levels or in the expression increase after ischemic training. Another novel finding was that there was no difference between the restricted and nonrestricted exercise conditions in the increase of MCIP-1 mRNA, a marker for calcineurin activation. This suggests that calcineurin may be activated by exercise in humans and does not exclude that calcineurin could play a role in PGC-1 transcription activation in human skeletal muscle.

The human hypoxia inducible factor 1 (HIF‐1) system is activated under various pathological conditions, yet less is known about its physiological regulation in healthy human tissue. We have studied the effect of exercise on the activation of HIF‐1 in human skeletal muscle. Employing a model where oxygen consumption increases and oxygen tension can be manipulated, nine healthy male subjects performed 45 min of one‐legged knee‐extension exercise. Biopsies were taken before, directly after, and 30, 120, and 360 min after exercise. Exercise led to elevated HIF‐1α protein levels and a more prevalent nuclear staining of HIF‐1α. Interestingly, a concurrent decrease in von Hippel‐Lindau tumor suppressor protein (VHL) levels was detected in some subjects. Moreover, exercise induced an increase in the DNA binding activity of HIF‐1α. Characterization of gene expression by real‐time PCR demonstrated that the HIF‐1 target genes VEGF and EPO were activated. VEGF mRNA was further increased when blood flow to the exercising leg was restricted. In conclusion, these data clearly demonstrate that physical activity induces the HIF‐1‐mediated signaling pathway in human skeletal muscle, providing the first evidence that human HIF‐1α can be activated during physiologically relevant conditions.

The molecular pathways that are activated and contribute to physiological remodeling of skeletal muscle in response to endurance exercise have not been fully characterized. We previously reported that ∼800 gene transcripts are regulated following 6 wk of supervised endurance training in young sedentary males, referred to as the training-responsive transcriptome (TRT) (Timmons JA et al. J Appl Physiol 108: 1487–1496, 2010). Here we utilized this database together with data on biological variation in muscle adaptation to aerobic endurance training in both humans and a novel out-bred rodent model to study the potential regulatory molecules that coordinate this complex network of genes. We identified three DNA sequences representing RUNX1, SOX9, and PAX3 transcription factor binding sites as overrepresented in the TRT. In turn, miRNA profiling indicated that several miRNAs targeting RUNX1, SOX9, and PAX3 were downregulated by endurance training. The TRT was then examined by contrasting subjects who demonstrated the least vs. the greatest improvement in aerobic capacity (low vs. high responders), and at least 100 of the 800 TRT genes were differentially regulated, thus suggesting regulation of these genes may be important for improving aerobic capacity. In high responders, proangiogenic and tissue developmental networks emerged as key candidates for coordinating tissue aerobic adaptation. Beyond RNA-level validation there were several DNA variants that associated with maximal aerobic capacity (V̇o_2max) trainability in the HERITAGE Family Study but these did not pass conservative Bonferroni adjustment. In addition, in a rat model selected across 10 generations for high aerobic training responsiveness, we found that both the TRT and a homologous subset of the human high responder genes were regulated to a greater degree in high responder rodent skeletal muscle. This analysis provides a comprehensive map of the transcriptomic features important for aerobic exercise-induced improvements in maximal oxygen consumption.

MRNA expression of vascular endothelial growth factor (VEGF), fibroblast growth factor-2 (FGF-2), and hypoxia-inducible factor (HIF) subunits HIF-1α and HIF-1β in human skeletal muscle was studied during endurance exercise at different degrees of oxygen delivery. Muscle biopsies were taken before and after 45 min of one-legged knee-extension exercise performed under conditions of nonrestricted or restricted blood flow (∼15–20% lower) at the same absolute workload. Exercise increased VEGF mRNA expression by 178% and HIF-1β by 340%, but not HIF-1α and FGF-2. No significant differences between the restricted and nonrestricted groups were observed. The exercise-induced increase in VEGF mRNA was correlated to the exercise changes in HIF-1α and HIF-1β mRNA. The changes in VEGF, HIF-1α, and HIF-1β mRNAs were correlated to the exercise-induced increase in femoral venous plasma lactate concentration. It is concluded that1) VEGF but not FGF-2 gene expression is upregulated in human skeletal muscle by a single bout of dynamic exercise and that there is a graded response in VEGF mRNA expression related to the metabolic stress and2) the increase in VEGF mRNA expression correlates to the changes in both HIF-1α and HIF-1β mRNA.

The proper identification of differentially methylated CpGs is central in most epigenetic studies. The Illumina HumanMethylation450 BeadChip is widely used to quantify DNA methylation; nevertheless...