Differential response of rat cardiac and skeletal muscle glycogen to glucocorticoids

Abstract

Though glucocorticoids were previously implicated in the support of myocardial glycogen supercompensation after exercise, it was unclear why skeletal muscle glycogen did not simultaneously supercompensate since it was also exposed to the exercise-induced glucocorticoid increases. The current study shows that glucocorticoids differentially affect cardiac and skeletal muscle glycogen. Following dexamethasone administration (400 micrograms i.p.) myocardial glycogen peaked at 6 h while glycogen in the soleus, red vastus lateralis, and white vastus lateralis increased more slowly and reached the highest values 17 h postinjection. Concurrently, blood glucose, insulin, and glucagon remained at control levels. Liver glycogen increased within 2 h and continued to rise with a peak value at 17 h. Plasma free fatty acid (FFA) levels increased and remained high throughout the 26-h experimental period. High FFA levels inhibit glycogenolysis and thus could be partially responsible for glucocorticoid-induced glycogen increases. It is postulated that glycogen supercompensation does not readily occur in skeletal muscles after exercise because of the brevity of the corticosterone and FFA increases and the slowness of the skeletal muscle glycogen response to glucocorticoids.