A new study to be presented at the Annual Meeting of the European Association for the Study of Diabetes in Madrid, Spain, found that while females' and males' muscles differed in their handling of glucose and fatty acids, regular physical activity may quickly trigger similar beneficial metabolic changes in the muscles of both sexes.
In the study, researchers analyzed muscle biopsies from 9 male and 16 female participants with an average age of 30 years living with overweight or obesity and not participating in regular sporting activities. The participants performed 1 hour of moderate to intense endurance exercise (30 min cycling on an ergometer and 30 min walking on a treadmill), 3 times per week for 8 weeks.
Using multi-omics analysis including epigenomics, transcriptomics, and proteomics, the researchers examined muscle cells and fibers from biopsies collected at baseline, after the first exercise session (acute response), and after the last session at 8 weeks.
At baseline, sex-related differences were found in skeletal muscle RNA transcripts associated with glucose homeostasis and insulin signaling pathways. Males' muscles showed a higher capacity to exercise on glucose, whereas females' muscles used more fatty acids.
After the first exercise session, males' muscles exhibited a more pronounced stress response, suggesting a greater difficulty in adapting to the acute exercise stimulus compared with females.
Following the 8-week training intervention, the sex differences in skeletal muscle gene expression and protein abundance were attenuated. Both female and male participants showed increased levels of proteins involved in energy production from glucose and lipids.
"While the initial response of skeletal muscles to exercise differs between females and males, repeated exercise appears to cancel out these differences and trigger beneficial metabolic changes in both sexes," underscored the study authors.
The researchers emphasized that exercise has a potent effect on skeletal muscle and is the most effective strategy to prevent weight loss-related muscle loss and type 2 diabetes. The findings could have potential implications for tailoring exercise recommendations to more effectively prevent or delay the progression of type 2 diabetes and obesity.
The authors declared no conflict of interest.