Muscle molecular adaptations to endurance exercise training are conditioned by glycogen availability: a proteomics-based analysis in the McArdle mouse model

McArdle's disease is an inborn disorder of skeletal muscle glycogen metabolism that results in blockade of glycogen breakdown due to mutations in the myophosphorylase gene. We recently developed a mouse model carrying the homozygous p.R50X common human mutation (McArdle mouse), facilitating the study of how glycogen availability affects muscle molecular adaptations to endurance exercise training. Using quantitative differential analysis by liquid chromatography with tandem mass spectrometry, we analysed the quadriceps muscle proteome of 16-week-old McArdle (n = 5) and wild-type (WT) (n = 4) mice previously subjected to 8 weeks' moderate-intensity treadmill training or to an equivalent control (no training) period. Protein networks enriched within the differentially expressed proteins with training in WT and McArdle mice were assessed by hypergeometric enrichment analysis. Whereas endurance exercise training improved the estimated maximal aerobic capacity of both WT and McArdle mice as compared with controls, it was similar to 50% lower than normal in McArdle mice before and after training. We found a remarkable difference in the protein networks involved in muscle tissue adaptations induced by endurance exercise training with and without glycogen availability, and training induced the expression of only three proteins common to McArdle and WT mice: LIM and calponin homology domains-containing protein 1 (LIMCH1), poly (ADP-ribose) polymerase 1 (PARP1 - although the training effect was more marked in McArdle mice), and tigger transposable element derived 4 (TIGD4). Trained McArdle mice presented strong expression of mitogen-activated protein kinase 12 (MAPK12). Through an in-depth proteomic analysis, we provide mechanistic insight into how glycogen availability affects muscle protein signalling adaptations to endurance exercise training.