Glucose ingestion during endurance training in men attenuates expression of myokine receptor

Glucose ingestion during exercise attenuates the release of the myokine interleukin-6 (IL-6) from working skeletal muscle, which results in a diminished increase in plasma IL-6. Interleukin-6 receptor alpha (IL-6R alpha) expression in skeletal muscle is induced by acute exercise, mediated in part by an increased IL-6 concentration in the bloodstream. We hypothesized that endurance training would increase the density of IL-6R alpha in skeletal muscle and that glucose ingestion would attenuate the effect. Nine subjects performed 10 weeks of one-legged knee-extensor training. They trained one leg (Glc-leg) while ingesting a glucose solution (Glc) and ingested a placebo (Plc) while training the other leg (Plc-leg). Endurance training increased peak power by similar to 14% and reduced the exercise-induced gene expression of IL-6 and IL-6R alpha in skeletal muscle and IL-6 plasma concentration. The IL-6R alpha density increased to a lesser extent in the Glc-leg, suggesting that glucose ingestion attenuates the effect of training on IL-6R alpha by blunting the IL-6 response. We conclude that glucose ingestion during endurance training attenuates the increase in IL-6R alpha density.