Exercise and Amino Acid Anabolic Cell Signaling and the Regulation of Skeletal Muscle Mass.docVIP

Nutrients 2012, 4, 740-758; doi:10.3390/nu4070740 OPEN ACCESS nutrients ISSN 2072-6643 /journal/nutrients Review Exercise and Amino Acid Anabolic Cell Signaling and the Regulation of Skeletal Muscle Mass Stefan M. Pasiakos Military Nutrition Division, United States Army Research Institute of Environmental Medicine, 15 Kansas Street, Building 42, Natick, MA 01760, USA; E-Mail: stefan.pasiakos@; Tel.: +1-508-233-6474; Fax: +1-508-233-4869 Received: 31 May 2012; in revised form: 29 June 2012 / Accepted: 2 July 2012 / Published: 10 July 2012 Abstract: A series of complex intracellular networks influence the regulation of skeletal muscle protein turnover. In recent years, studies have examined how cellular regulators of muscle protein turnover modulate metabolic mechanisms contributing to the loss, gain, or conservation of skeletal muscle mass. Exercise and amino acids both stimulate anabolic signaling potentially through several intracellular pathways including the mammalian target of rapamycin complex 1 and the mitogen activated protein kinase cell signaling cascades. As novel molecular regulators of muscle integrity continue to be explored, a contemporary analysis of the literature is required to understand the metabolic mechanisms by which contractile forces and amino acids affect cellular process that contribute to long-term adaptations and preservation of muscle mass. This article reviews the literature related to how exercise and amino acid availability affect cellular regulators of skeletal muscle mass, especially highlighting recent investigations that have identified mechanisms by which contractile forces and amino acids modulate muscle health. Furthermore, this review will explore integrated exercise and nutrition strategies that promote the maintenance of muscle health by optimizing exercise, and amino acid-induced cell signaling in aging adults