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Updated: Jun 4, 2025

Fiber Type and Subcellular-Specific Analysis of Lipid Droplet Content in Skeletal Muscle
Published on: June 8, 2022
Sex- and endurance training-mediated cardiovascular protection through lipids during exercise
Julia An1, Ariel S Thorson2, David H Wasserman3
1Department of Medicine, Division of Diabetes, Endocrinology, and Metabolism, Vanderbilt University Medical Center, Nashville, TN, USA; Johns Hopkins University Sidney Kimmel Comprehensive Cancer Center, Baltimore, MD, USA.
Abstract:
Premenopausal women and endurance-trained individuals of either sex have reduced cardiovascular disease (CVD) risk. Endurance training shifts fuel selection towards fats to spare carbohydrates; interestingly, women prioritize fats as an energy resource more than men do during exercise. Relying on fats during exercise drives whole-body lipolysis and promotes lipid uptake and oxidation capacity in skeletal muscles. These metabolic adaptations during exercise result in protection against diet-induced obesity, a healthy body fat distribution, and reduced plasma triacylglycerol (TG) concentrations. Here, we analyze how sex differences and endurance training mediate changes in skeletal muscles, including exercise-induced lipolysis, lipid uptake and β-oxidation, intramuscular TG storage, and postexercise lipid metabolism, and discuss how regulating this processes affects CVD risk.
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