| Objective. The purpose of this investigation is to examine the association of genetic variations in 4 single nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs) of the AKT1 gene and 3 SNPs of the AMPKalpha2 gene with percent change in lean muscle mass, arm mass-adjusted strength, and leg mass-adjusted strength following a resistance exercise training (RET) program while controlling for the effects of age, gender, and RET history. These genes are part of the mTOR signaling pathway, which has been shown to be an important mediator of protein synthesis in adult animals. Design. Participants were young men and women (age 18-31) from the Molecular Epidemiology of Resistance Exercise Training (MERET) study who completed 10 weeks of RET. Participants trained 3 days per week at 75% of one repetition maximum, performing 3 sets (6-10 repetitions) of 13 resistance exercises. Results. There were no significant associations between the individual AKT1 and AMPKalpha2 SNPs examined in this investigation to percent changes in lean muscle mass, arm mass-adjusted strength, or leg mass-adjusted strength following RET. However, significant interactions between various SNPS of the AKT1 and AMPKalpha2 genes and measures of muscle mass and strength were observed. Conclusion. The results of this investigation suggest that future research involving the mTOR signaling pathway and its association to variations in the individual response of skeletal muscle response to standardized RET is warranted. |
