Enzyme activities of fatty acid oxidation and the respiratory chain in chronically stimulated fast-twitch muscle of the rabbit

Fast-twitch tibialis anterior muscle of the rabbit was subjected to chronic low-frequency (10 Hz, 10 h/day) stimulation for different time periods up to 28 days. Total cellular activities of carnitine: palmitoyl-CoA transferase, crotonase, 3-hydroxyacyl-CoA dehydrogenase, 3-keto-acyl-CoA thiolase, citrate synthase, NADH:cytochrome c oxidoreductase, succinate: cytochrome c oxidoreductase, and cytochrome c oxidase were measured in contralateral and stimulated muscles at various times. With the exception of crotonase, which increased only 1.6-fold after 28 days of stimulation, the other enzymes increased in parallel displaying 3-fold elevated absolute activities. These results, by supporting and extending our previous findings, indicate that the expression of the enzymes of the main metabolic systems of aerobic substrate oxidation, i.e. the citric acid cycle, the fatty acid oxidation and the respiratory chain, is regulated in a coordinate manner.