A ketogenic diet enhances aerobic exercise adaptation and promotes muscle mitochondrial remodeling in hyperglycemic mice.
Study Goal
The researchers aimed to determine whether a ketogenic diet could restore the impaired aerobic exercise adaptation caused by chronic hyperglycemia in mice.
Results Summary
The study found that a ketogenic diet normalized blood glucose and restored aerobic exercise adaptation in hyperglycemic mice, improving VO2peak, skeletal muscle remodeling, capillary density, and mitochondrial function. The diet also independently enhanced fatty acid oxidation.
Population
Hyperglycemic mice induced by streptozotocin (STZ).
Effective Dosage
Not specified
Duration
Not specified
Interactions
None mentioned
| Intervention | Direction | Endpoint | Population | Dosage | Impact | Claim # |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
a low-carbohydrate/high-fat 'ketogenic' diet | decrease | blood glucose | a mouse model of hyperglycemia | - | reducing | #1 |
a ketogenic diet | decrease | blood glucose | STZ-KETO mice | - | rapidly normalized | #2 |
aerobic exercise training | no change | VO2peak | STZ-CHOW mice | - | improvements in VO2peak were blunted | #3 |
aerobic exercise training | increase | VO2peak | STZ-KETO mice | - | exercise response was restored | #4 |
a ketogenic diet | increase | aerobic remodeling of skeletal muscle | STZ-KETO mice | - | enhanced aerobic remodeling of skeletal muscle | #5 |
a ketogenic diet | increase | skeletal muscle fiber-type | STZ-KETO mice | - | more oxidative fiber-type | #6 |
a ketogenic diet | increase | capillary density | STZ-KETO mice | - | increased capillary density | #7 |
a ketogenic diet | increase | circulating angiogenic markers | STZ-KETO mice | - | restoration of circulating angiogenic markers | #8 |
a ketogenic diet | increase | muscle mitochondrial remodeling and mitochondrial dynamics | STZ-KETO mice | - | induced exercise-independent effects on muscle mitochondrial remodeling and mitochondrial dynamics | #9 |
a ketogenic diet | increase | fatty acid oxidation | STZ-KETO mice | - | significantly increasing | #10 |
VO2peak is a key health benefit of aerobic exercise; however, chronic hyperglycemia is associated with persistently low VO2peak due to an impaired adaptive response to training. Here, we tested whether reducing blood glucose with a low-carbohydrate/high-fat "ketogenic" diet could restore aerobic exercise adaptation in a mouse model of hyperglycemia. Hyperglycemia was induced by streptozotocin (STZ) and mice were stratified to standard chow (STZ-CHOW), or a ketogenic diet (STZ-KETO), which rapidly normalized blood glucose. After aerobic exercise training, improvements in VO2peak were blunted in STZ-CHOW, but exercise response was restored in STZ-KETO. Improved VO2peak in STZ-KETO was associated with enhanced aerobic remodeling of skeletal muscle, including a more oxidative fiber-type and increased capillary density, along with restoration of circulating angiogenic markers. Moreover, KETO induced exercise-independent effects on muscle mitochondrial remodeling and mitochondrial dynamics, significantly increasing fatty acid oxidation. Our results identify a ketogenic diet as a potential therapy to improve aerobic exercise response in the growing population with hyperglycemia due to diabetes and other metabolic conditions.