ArticleMolecular metabolism2018
Distinct lipid droplet characteristics and distribution unmask the apparent contradiction of the athlete's paradox.
Article in Molecular metabolism, 2018. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 59 papers.
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Who cites it
59 citing papers in PubMed, 109 citations in OpenAlex.
- Comparison of intramyocellular lipid metabolism in patients with diabetes and male athletes.Nature communications · 2024Trial
- Exercise and Fat: A Primer.Sports medicine - open · 2026Review
- Restoration of circadian rhythm as novel targets against sarcopenia.Chinese medical journal · 2026Review
- From Adipose Dysfunction to Multi-Organ Steatosis: Defining the Metabolic Steatotic Axis.Current issues in molecular biology · 2026Review
- Impact of Caloric Restriction and Resistance Training on Weight Management, Insulin Sensitivity, and Adipose Tissue Protein Dynamics.Oxidative medicine and cellular longevity · 2026Article
- Age-Related Anabolic Resistance: Nutritional and Exercise Strategies, and Potential Relevance to Life-Long Exercisers.Nutrients · 2025Review
- Perilipins: key targets for regulating lipid metabolism and alleviating abnormal lipid metabolism through exercise.Diabetology & metabolic syndrome · 2025Review
- Skeletal muscle atrophy and dysfunction in obesity and type-2 diabetes mellitus: Myocellular mechanisms involved.Reviews in endocrine & metabolic disorders · 2025Review
- Lipid droplet dynamics in type 2 diabetes and its complications: pathophysiological insights and therapeutic options.Lipids in health and disease · 2025Review
- Sex- and endurance training-mediated cardiovascular protection through lipids during exercise.Trends in endocrinology and metabolism: TEM · 2025Review
- Crosstalk Between Skeletal Muscle and Proximal Connective Tissues in Lipid Dysregulation in Obesity and Type 2 Diabetes.Metabolites · 2025Review
- Raman analysis of lipids in cells: Current applications and future prospects.Journal of pharmaceutical analysis · 2025Review
- Coffee Compounds Protection Against Lipotoxicity Is Associated with Lipid Droplet Formation and Antioxidant Response in Primary Rat Hepatocytes.Antioxidants (Basel, Switzerland) · 2025Article
- Impaired suppression of fatty acid release by insulin is a strong predictor of reduced whole-body insulin-mediated glucose uptake and skeletal muscle insulin receptor activation.Acta physiologica (Oxford, England) · 2025Article
- Multiomics and single-cell sequencings reveal the specific biological characteristics of low Ki-67 triple-negative breast cancer.Cancer innovation · 2024Article
- Article
- Roles of lipid droplets and related proteins in metabolic diseases.Lipids in health and disease · 2024Review
- Apigenin's Modulation of Doxorubicin Efficacy in Breast Cancer.Molecules (Basel, Switzerland) · 2024Article
- The impact of bed rest on human skeletal muscle metabolism.Cell reports. Medicine · 2024Article
- The African killifish: A short-lived vertebrate model to study the biology of sarcopenia and longevity.Aging cell · 2024Article
Corrections and comments
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Authors and funding
11 authors at 1 institution in 2 countries.
Funding
No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.
Abstract
objectiveIntramyocellular lipid (IMCL) storage negatively associates with insulin resistance, albeit not in endurance-trained athletes. We investigated the putative contribution of lipid droplet (LD) morphology and subcellular localization to the so-called athlete's paradox.
methodsWe performed quantitative immunofluorescent confocal imaging of muscle biopsy sections from endurance Trained, Lean sedentary, Obese, and Type 2 diabetes (T2DM) participants (n = 8/group). T2DM patients and Trained individuals were matched for IMCL content. Furthermore we performed this analysis in biopsies of T2DM patients before and after a 12-week exercise program (n = 8).
resultsWe found marked differences in lipid storage morphology between trained subjects and T2DM: the latter group mainly store lipid in larger LDs in the subsarcolemmal (SS) region of type II fibers, whereas Trained store lipid in a higher number of LDs in the intramyofibrillar (IMF) region of type I fibers. In addition, a twelve-week combined endurance and strength exercise program resulted in a LD phenotype shift in T2DM patients partly towards an 'athlete-like' phenotype, accompanied by improved insulin sensitivity. Proteins involved in LD turnover were also more abundant in Trained than in T2DM and partly changed in an 'athlete-like' fashion in T2DM patients upon exercise training.
conclusionsOur findings provide a physiological explanation for the athlete's paradox and reveal LD morphology and distribution as a major determinant of skeletal muscle insulin sensitivity.
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