Chapter 6 Amino Acids and Exercise Molecular and Cellular Aspects

Resistance exercise and amino acid feeding are potent stimuli for the accrual of skeletal muscle, and as such, are often used as a means to increase muscle mass in athletes or combat muscle loss in disease states. In response to resistance exercise and amino acid feeding there is a profound stimulation of muscle protein synthesis (MPS) that is underpinned by a series of protein kinase phosphorylation events. Our understanding as to how different types and compositions of amino acids impact the muscle protein synthetic response to resistance exercise while evolving is incomplete at present. Moreover, the study of how amino acids alter the activation of key signaling molecules known to stimulate MPS remains in its infancy. The aim of this chapter is to concisely summarize our current understanding of how exercise and protein nutrition alter skeletal muscle protein turnover and both the cellular and molecular level. We also provide some insight as to potential areas for future research.