Effects of aerobic exercise training on the protein kinase B (PKB)/mammalian target of rapamycin (mTOR) signaling pathway in aged skeletal muscle

The protein kinase B (PKB)/mammalian target of rapamycin (mTOR) signaling pathway is thought to play a critical role in the regulation of protein synthesis and skeletal muscle mass. The purpose of the present study was to determine the effects of voluntary wheel running on the PKB/mTOR signaling pathway in muscles from aged mice (20-22 months). The total levels of mTOR were 65% higher in gastrocnemius muscles from aged mice subjected to wheel running compared to aged sedentary mice (p-0.002) PKB phosphorlation on Ser473 was 45% higher in gastrocnemius muscles from aged mice subjected to wheel running compared to aged sedentary mice (p=0.01) The total abundance of PKB was 50% higher in gastrocnemius muscles from wheel running mice compared to aged controls (p=0.005). Three months of wheel running did not alter the total amount of p70 S6K in gastrocnemius muscle. Protein synthesis, as assessed by [(14)C]phenylalanine incorporation into protein was significantly higher in soleus muscles from aged mice subjected to wheel running compared to aged sedentary mice (p-0.001) These findings indicate the aerobic exercise training may attenuate the age-related decline in protein synthesis, a process that appears to be due, in part, to increases in mTOR and PKB.