Gene expression profile of muscle adaptation to high-intensity intermittent exercise training in young men

High-intensity intermittent exercise training (HIIT) has been proposed as an effective approach for improving both, the aerobic and anaerobic exercise capacity. However, the detailed molecular response of the skeletal muscle to HIIT remains unknown. We examined the effects of the HIIT on the global gene expression in the human skeletal muscle. Eleven young healthy men participated in the study and completed a 6-week HIIT program involving exhaustive 6–7 sets of 20-s cycling periods with 10-s rests. In addition to determining the maximal oxygen uptake ( V̇O_2max ), maximal accumulated oxygen deficit, and thigh muscle cross-sectional area (CSA), muscle biopsy samples were obtained from the vastus lateralis before and after the training to analyse the skeletal muscle transcriptome. The HIIT program significantly increased the V̇O_2max , maximal accumulated oxygen deficit, and thigh muscle CSA. The expression of 79 genes was significantly elevated (fold-change >1.2), and that of 73 genes was significantly reduced (fold-change <0.8) after HIIT. Gene ontology analysis of the up-regulated genes revealed that the significantly enriched categories were “glucose metabolism”, “extracellular matrix”, “angiogenesis”, and “mitochondrial membrane”. By providing information about a set of genes in the human skeletal muscle that responds to the HIIT, the study provided insight into the mechanism of skeletal muscle adaptation to HIIT.