Fish Protein Promotes Skeletal Muscle Hypertrophy via the Akt/mTOR Signaling Pathways

Skeletal muscle is the largest organ in the body and has a broad range of plasticity, undergoing atrophy in response to aging or disease and hypertrophy in response to nutritional supplements or exercise. Loss of skeletal muscle mass and force increases the risk of falls, impairs mobility, and leads to reduced quality of life. In a previous study, we demonstrated that taking in Alaska pollock protein (APP) for only 7 d increased the gastrocnemius muscle mass in rats. This study was conducted to identify hypertrophic myofibers and analyze how hypertrophy occurs within them. Twenty male rats were randomly divided into two groups and administered a diet of casein or APP for 7 d. The expression of each myosin heavy chain (MyHC) isoform in a cross-sectional area was then measured. MyHC IIb and IIx isoforms exhibited hypertrophic features in the gastrocnemius muscles of the APP-fed rats. Furthermore, comprehensive proteomic analyses were conducted to identify changes in protein expression due to muscle hypertrophy. Our results, evaluated by pathway analyses, indicated that the activity of the growth factor signaling pathway was significantly impacted by APP consumption. Moreover, APP could promote protein synthesis by activating the protein kinase B/mechanistic target of the rapamycin signaling pathway, which is also promoted by exercise.