Influence of training on skeletal muscle enzymatic adaptations in normal and diabetic rats

Muscle homogenates representing slow-twitch oxidative, fast-twitch oxidative-glycolytic, fast-twitch glycolytic, and mixed fiber types were prepared from normal, diabetic, and insulin-treated diabetic rats. Diabetes was induced by injection of 80 mg . kg-1 of streptozotocin. The activities of citrate synthase, succinate dehydrogenase, and 3-hydroxyacyl-CoA dehydrogenase were employed as markers of oxidative potential, whereas phosphorylase, hexokinase, and phosphofructokinase activities were used as an indication of glycolytic capacity. Diabetes was associated with a general decrement in the activity of oxidative marker enzymes for all fiber types except the fast-twitch glycolytic fiber. In contrast, the fast-twitch glycolytic fibers demonstrated the greatest decline in glycolytic enzymatic activity. Insulin-treated animals, either trained or untrained, exhibited enzyme activities similar to their normal counterparts. Exercise training of diabetic rats mimicked the effect of insulin treatment and caused a near normalization of the activity of the marker enzymes. These findings suggest that the enzymatic potential of all skeletal muscle fiber types of diabetic rats may be normalized by exercise training even in the absence of significant amounts of insulin.