Exercise and Fasting Activate Growth Hormone-Dependent Myocellular Signal Transducer and Activator of Transcription-5b Phosphorylation and Insulin-Like Growth Factor-I Messenger Ribonucleic Acid Expression in Humans

Context: GH secretion is increased by stress, such as fasting and exercise.

Objective: Our study was designed to test the hypothesis that fasting and exercise increase GH levels, GH-dependent signal transducer and activator of transcription (STAT)-5b phosphorylation, and IGF-I mRNA levels in human skeletal muscle.

Design and Participants: Eight healthy men (25.5 ± 4.3 yr) were studied for 6 h (a 4 h basal and a 2 h clamp period) in the basal state and after 72 h fasting and a 1-h ergometer cycling at 65% maximal oxygen uptake. Muscle biopsies were taken at t = 30 and 270 min.

Setting: The study was conducted at a university clinical research unit.

Results: During exercise, GH concentrations rapidly increased to greater than 10 ng/ml (P < 0.001). Thirty minutes after exercise, we observed a 4-fold increase in signal transducer and activator of transcription (STAT)-5 phosphorylation (P < 0.001) followed by an increase in IGF-I mRNA after 270 min (P = 0.026). During fasting, more sporadic GH bursts occurred, leading to an overall 3-fold increase in GH area under the curve_t=0–270 (P < 0.001). Similarly, STAT5 patterns were less consistent, with a tendency toward increased phosphorylation (P = 0.067, area under the curve_t=0–270), whereas IGF-I mRNAs were persistently increased (P < 0.01).

Conclusions: Our data show that myocellular GH signaling is stimulated after exercise and fasting in terms of increased STAT5 phosphorylation and/or IGF-I gene expression. This suggests that exercise with brief, well-defined GH peaks leads to distinct STAT5 phosphorylation and subsequent IGF-I gene expression, whereas fasting induces more sporadic GH bursts and less distinct but more persistent activation of the GH signal.